Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 1:42 pm on 12 January 2022.
I declare an interest here as I still sit on the board of trustees at Canolfan Pentre. The support charities and the voluntary sector provide to the most vulnerable in our communities is invaluable, and throughout the pandemic alleviated an immense amount of pressure for local authorities. We wouldn't be able to provide this support without the all-important funding. Unfortunately, it's obtaining funding that many of our charities across Wales find very difficult. I think we sometimes forget that these charities are predominantly run by retired people or parents who cannot work full time due to childcare responsibilities, with little or no experience of having to complete funding applications. We must do more to break down this barrier to ensure more people are able to receive the support they need. For this reason, will the Minister work with county voluntary councils, and other funding bodies, to ensure applications for grant funding are more user friendly?