Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:13 pm on 25 January 2022.
I very much welcome your statement today, Minister, and the policy and the approach that we have here in Wales, and the increased investment, I think, is going to be very valuable because, as we all know, there are, sadly, far too many people in Wales, as with other parts of the UK, who have these alcohol and illegal-drug problems. And as well as preventing problems for the future, we need to address, as well as we can, those with those habits at the moment.
You've touched on some of the tensions, Minister, between Welsh Government policy and Home Office policy, and I've heard from service providers that they do sometimes feel that they have to look both ways, as they describe it, and this does bring difficulties if you're trying to have an approach that is logical and doesn't have inconsistencies within it. I hear what you say about writing to UK Government, Minister—I just wonder whether there's anything else that might be done, in terms of helping service providers overcome those difficulties of trying to face both ways, because it does give rise to unproductive tensions and difficulties.
In terms of the funding, Minister, I think some people feel that the money doesn't always filter down to the workforce as much as it might, and this then leads to problems of retention and recruitment, and I wonder if that's something that you recognise and you may take further action on.
Just finally, mental health problems often overlap with these substance misuse addictions, and I think it's sometimes difficult to have joint funding in place for service providers to be able to apply for joint funding from the two sectors. I wonder if there's anything more that might be done to address those issues.