Looked-after Children and Care Leavers

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:35 pm on 10 May 2022.

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Photo of Jack Sargeant Jack Sargeant Labour 1:35, 10 May 2022

I'm grateful to the First Minister for that. And the First Minister will be aware that I'm currently chairing the Petitions Committee evidence sessions on the routine collection and publication of data of how many babies and children return to their care-experienced parents at the end of a parent and child placement. Now, as part of my commitment to engage the committee with the Welsh public, I and my colleague Buffy Williams visited Voices From Care Cymru and met care-experienced parents to hear directly from them. One individual told us about the interaction they had with their social worker, and I quote:

'I had some wine in the kitchen since Christmas. The social worker came in, found it, and poured it down the sink. And they said, "If you carry on like this, you will end up like your mum." I hadn't even opened it yet, they assumed I was a drinker, and I wasn't.'

Llywydd, there are countless examples of how people who have experienced trauma in their lives are being treated differently to how either I or you or the rest of the Members in this Senedd would be spoken to. First Minister, in the programme for government, you are committed to exploring radical reform of current services for care leavers. It is clear from the conversations that I've had that they want to engage in this process. Will you commit to ensuring that young people in care, and care leavers, are fully engaged?