The committee heard from a range of stakeholders about the accessibility and quality of care home provision, including oral evidence received from the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Age Cymru, Care Forum Wales, the Welsh Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Social Services, and the Welsh Government itself. The committee also received written submissions from a range of regional partnership boards, the Royal College of Nursing Wales and others, and I thank everyone who contributed to what was an important inquiry.

The committee notes that, while the Welsh Government has accepted most of our recommendations, its response appears to raise questions about their understanding of some of the issues, despite these being spelled out in existing Welsh law and guidance. It is, therefore, concerning that the response is indicative of the slow pace of policy reform in those areas and, specifically, the implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

We recommended that the Welsh Government should consider the voices of service users when considering policy reform in this area, where the lived experiences of residents are essential evidence as part of any reform process. Their voices should be central to the work of the Welsh Government’s task and finish group and the independent group that is developing the new national framework for social care national care service respectively. The Welsh Government accepted this recommendation and noted that the independent expert group included individuals from a range of diverse backgrounds. The committee were told that the recommendations of the independent group should have been received by Ministers at the end of April, but that there had been a delay. It is unclear from the Welsh Government's response the current status of the group’s work and when it will actually report. I'd, therefore, welcome clarity from the Minister on this, given the important role the group has in moving policy reform forward in this area.

Unfortunately, the narrative accompanying the acceptance of these recommendations falls some way short of the committee’s recommendation and the provisions of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act itself, which mandates a co-productive approach, whereby, and I quote:

'Individuals and their families must be able to participate fully in the process of determining and meeting their identified care and support needs through a process that is accessible to them.'

This is in contrast with the consultative approach described in the Welsh Government’s response.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence, for example, describes co-production as

'not just a word, it’s not just a concept, it is a meeting of minds coming together to find a shared solution.'

As they state:

'There is a difference between co-production and involvement: involvement means being consulted, while co-production means being equal partners and co-creators.'

Genuine co-production of public services with users and communities is about better delivery of health, social services and other services—in this case, to an ageing population. It is not about consultation with stakeholders after a policy has been developed, regardless of who was involved in developing that policy. I seek assurances from the Minister as to how the Welsh Government will ensure that its expert group reaches those to whom it is most relevant and involves them in the process of creating and delivering a service that works for all, not just consulting them afterwards.

It's concerning that the Welsh Government does not appear to be taking a lead on this approach, despite the intent of the co-production provisions of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, which I worked with the then Deputy Minister at the time, Gwenda Thomas, on developing, and particularly not just the Act itself but the relevant codes of practice, which are quite clear in this respect. So, I urge the Welsh Government to implement the committee’s recommendation in all its future work in this area and to implement the unambiguous co-production provisions of the Act and its codes of practice.

The committee also concluded that more should be done to support and encourage volunteer participation in the care home sector, to offer quality-of-life services to service users. However, the role of volunteers must not be in place of full-time, professional paid care. The Welsh Government accepted this recommendation and provided more information about a recent pilot project, which sought to recruit volunteers to support safe visiting between residents and relatives during the pandemic. The committee is encouraged to learn that this initial pilot project's aims are to be broadened, and we'd be grateful if the Minister could agree to keep us updated on this.