Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 12 January 2022.
Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, for that question. I was in attendance at the cross-party group most recently—I have attended more than one—which you chair, and it was very good to see you back in that position. Can I just confirm that over the time of the pandemic it has been vital for me to engage, as I chair the disability equality forum? In fact, I chaired eight disability equality forums, where we had those discussions about the impact of the pandemic, concerns and developments relating to disabled people in Wales, and also making sure that all those views were shared and the experiences shared across the Welsh Government—the chief medical officer attending those meetings, and other Ministers as well.
I think, in light of the testimonies that came from the disability equality forum and data that was emerging, we commissioned forum members to examine the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic was having on disabled people, and that resulted in the report you've just mentioned, 'Locked out: liberating disabled people’s lives and rights in Wales beyond COVID-19', and that was co-produced by Professor Debbie Foster of the Cardiff Business School and the steering group, who have worked together to ensure that we have a disability taskforce that's been established—I attended and co-chaired the first inaugural meeting in November—and, indeed, taking this forward, in terms of ensuring that the findings of the 'Locked out' report can be delivered. Now, I just want to finally, quickly, say that this is all in the context of developing actions within the principles of the social model of disability, which this Senedd has also endorsed, alongside the Welsh Government.