4. What work is the Commission undertaking to make the Senedd estate dementia friendly? OQ56844

I thank you for that question. In 2015, the Assembly committed to becoming a dementia-friendly organisation. In line with that commitment, the Commission continues to work closely with Alzheimer’s Society Cymru’s dementia-friendly team and has delivered Dementia Friends training and awareness sessions for Members, their staff, Commission staff, and particularly for public-facing staff and contractors working on the estate. We have also ensured staff who have caring responsibilities for people living with dementia are directed to support available through the Alzheimer's Society, and increased awareness further through published guidance, blogs and articles promoting dementia awareness. 

Thank you for that answer, Commissioner. I'm grateful that there is work being undertaken by the Commission to ensure that those who live with dementia are able to access the Senedd estate. After all, those who are living with dementia should be equally as able as anyone else to access the estate. I'm sure the Commissioner is aware that the perception of those living with dementia is often altered, and simple things such as a dark mat or a carpet on the floor can be seen as a hole that they can fall into. The sooner we make some simple changes in the Senedd, such as changing mats around the building, the better, so I'd be grateful if the Commission could outline a timetable for these simple changes, and when they plan to be finished with them.

You make a really important point. Of course, one of the other issues for people with dementia is finding a quiet room. We have made sure that those quiet rooms and calming spaces are here to help enable people to de-stress. As I said, the public-facing staff are trained so they are able to help deal with any issues that come forward. The Commission has also marked Dementia Action Week as an opportunity to raise awareness further, and this question today, of course, will facilitate that. A group of people affected by dementia visited the Senedd to assess its dementia friendliness and put together a report outlining their findings, and that's informed our development of an action plan. We are going to build on that in the sixth Senedd and we will quite happily, with the question that you particularly raise, send you further information. I thank you for your question. 

Thank you, everyone.