Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:19 pm on 7 February 2023.
I call for two oral statements or debates in Welsh Government time on two important matters.
The first of these is on accessible communication and information for people with a sensory loss. Public services have legal duties under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that disabled people can access services on an equal basis to non-disabled people, known as the reasonable adjustments duty. This includes making sure that people who have an impairment or sensory loss are provided with information in a format that they can read and understand. However, following the health Minister's response to the joint letter from RNIB Cymru and the RNID in Wales seeking clarity around the all-Wales standards for accessible communication and information for people with a sensory loss, they replied outlining a number of continuing concerns they still have, which they also shared with me as chair of the cross-party groups on disability and on deaf issues.
They highlighted the lack of scrutiny, accountability and reporting around the implementation of the standards across NHS Wales, and that this is a patient safety issue. They called on the Welsh Government for clarity around why the Welsh Government has not allocated the resources necessary to appoint an accessibility lead, despite accepting this as a recommendation on two separate occasions, initially made by the Senedd's Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee and then again by the Health and Social Care Committee. They called for a clear commitment from the Welsh Government to ensuring the standards are embedded within health boards and are accompanied by a clear action plan, targets and timescales. They called for transparent and public reporting on the standards, setting out which targets are not being met by which health boards and trusts. So, I call for an oral statement or debate accordingly.
I also call for an oral statement or debate in Welsh Government time on support for deaf children in Wales. National Deaf Children's Society Cymru have warned of a looming educational crisis for deaf children in Wales. Their Consortium for Research into Deaf Education survey of local authorities shows that the numbers of teachers that are deaf in Wales has fallen by 20 per cent over the last decade. In addition, more than a third of teachers that are deaf across Wales are over the age of 50, meaning there they're likely to retire in the next 10 to 15 years.