4. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children and Young People’s Plan

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:57 pm on 1 March 2022.

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Photo of Julie Morgan Julie Morgan Labour 3:57, 1 March 2022

Okay, thank you very much, and thank you very much, Jane, for welcoming this plan with such wholeheartedness. Advocacy for children in care I think is absolutely crucial. As you know, one of our main aims in the Government is to improve the lot of children in care, and that really links with your third question as well, about the not-for-profit providers, because we do want to transform the care system. We want to keep as many children as possible in their own homes and in their own families. We want them to stay at home with their families, if that's possible; if it's not possible, and they have to come into care, we want them to be placed near their families and we don't want children, if it's at all possible, to be placed a long way away from their home areas.

This does bring in the issue of advocacy, because, obviously, it's really important that children are able to speak up. We are in the process of looking at ensuring that independent residential advocacy services in independent residential services can also have advocacy for the children in those services.

In terms of the for-profit providers, this is something that, as you say, has been raised repeatedly by care-experienced young people, who do resent very much that the bad luck in their lives has resulted in other people getting a profit. So, this is one of the absolute top priorities of the Government, but it is part of the whole system of transforming the care system so that fewer children come into care and then that the children who do have to come into care—that as many children as possible who do have to be placed in care will be placed where there is no profit in the organisations that provide for them. So, I can absolutely assure her that it is one of our top priorities.

In terms of mental health and the issue about CAMHS, I will repeat that I do think it's important that we concentrate our efforts in trying to reduce the number of applications to CAMHS, which will then bring down the waiting lists, if we can get more children dealt with in the community.