9. What action is the Welsh Government taking to strengthen the rights of disabled people? OQ58838

Diolch yn fawr, Hefin David. The Welsh Government has set up the disability rights taskforce and working groups to respond to the 'Locked Out: Liberating Disabled People's Lives' report produced during the COVID-19 pandemic and is progressing actions under the 'Action on Disability: The Right to Independent Living' framework and action plan.

Unison has designated 2002—sorry, 2022—the Year of the Disabled Worker, and tomorrow I'm hosting an event in the Senedd, which will be an exciting opportunity to showcase the skills, experience, qualities that disabled workers bring to the public sector workforce and to society. And the event will concentrate on speaking out against disability discrimination, challenging negative stereotypes and highlighting the work that can be done to remove barriers preventing disabled people from achieving their goals. In your statement two weeks ago, Minister, you made clear the Welsh Government's support for embedding the social model of disability in all areas of society. Can you, therefore, agree that one of the most effective ways we can do this is to focus on creating a society where disabled people are valued, helping them to become more active in public life, and also, importantly, in trade unions and in their workplaces?  

Diolch yn fawr, Hefin David. I'm really looking forward to joining your event tomorrow, as a proud member of Unison and also Minister for Social Justice, but I do agree that the most effective way of ensuring that disabled people are valued in all aspects of life, including public life, the workplace, unions, is to embed the social model of disability. We're working towards training all our staff on the social model, and also public services across Wales, to promote it so people understand what it means: that we are disabling people and we have to address those barriers. And I'll be reinforcing our commitment to that tommorrow at your event.

I thank the Minister and the Deputy Minister.