Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:25 pm on 16 November 2022.
Thanks very much, and thanks for your interest in what I think is a really important programme. Because we're in a cost-of-living crisis, this is the time when we really need to be wrapping our arms around people who may be under a lot of pressure. We have an opportunity in the health service to make every contact count, and that's part of what we're doing here with this particular programme. It is quite remarkable, I think, if you look at the service—I think there have been 628 successful benefit claims since April 2021 with an average of £3,800 a year of extra income per patient. That is transformational for these families. That is a huge amount of money, and this is money that they're entitled to. So, we've got to make sure that people really understand that this service is available.
There are lots of other services available. I know Jane Hutt has been promoting services that we're promoting with Citizens Advice and all the others, but that has represented an income overall of £2,391,000. That's huge. That's money not just going into their pockets, but also into local communities after that. So, I would like to thank them for that. In Cwm Taf Morgannwg in particular we've seen 217 patients supported. It is quite remarkable. And it's not just about benefits assessment, as you say, it's about adaptation and everything. So, I would like to join with you in thanking Meinir, Rena and the others for their work, and I have made it clear that I'd be disappointed if these successful services and projects were to be decommissioned. We're all under massive pressure at the moment. Everybody understands the pressure, but obviously this is an area where these people are entitled to this support, and we need to give them a little helping hand to get there.