Question to Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty
Adaptive Housing for the Disabled
14:36
Janet Finch-Saunders
Minister, as a member of the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee, we conducted another inquiry—our third inquiry—into home adaptations and I am quite keen to ensure that we do not write these reports and then just pay lip service to them. Two of the recommendations, actually, were as follows:
‘The Welsh Government should encourage Local Authority scrutiny committees to scrutinise the performance of adaptation services in their areas at least once in a council term’
 and also that:
‘Welsh Government should work with the various agencies involved in the adaptations process to ensure that opportunities to recycle equipment are maximised.’
On those two points alone, what action is your department actually taking to ensure that actions have been taken forward since the publication of that report?

14:37
Lesley Griffiths
You are quite right—reports should not just sit on a shelf and gather dust; they need to be looked at and, obviously, we need to look at any recommendations that come forward from Christine Chapman’s committee very seriously. There is a great deal of work going on between Welsh Government and local authorities in this area. My department itself has a needs and adaptations review going on, which I expect to report to me by the end of the month. I think to try to share equipment and move equipment over is very good. I mentioned, in relation to adaptive housing, that we have encouraged and given funding to local authorities to ensure that they can have a register so that there could be that cross-boundary working, if necessary. We fund the disabled facilities grant and, while there has been an increase in the number of days that people are waiting—a decrease, by 32 days, rather than an increase, I should say—I still think that that is not good enough. I have already written to the Welsh Local Government Association and told it that. Authorities really have to up their game. Some local authorities are much quicker than others, but it is still taking an average of 239 days to deliver some disabled facilities grants, which is completely unacceptable.

Child Poverty
15:03
Janet Finch-Saunders
10. Will the Minister make a statement on how the draft budget cuts will impact on child poverty in Wales? OAQ(4)0236(CTP)
15:03
Lesley Griffiths
The financial settlement for the Welsh Government has necessitated making difficult funding decisions. We have protected budgets seeking to reduce child poverty wherever possible. Investing in early years is an effective way to tackle poverty. We have protected funding for Flying Start, doubling the number of children benefiting by 2015-16.
15:03
 Janet Finch-Saunders
Thank you, Minister. There are now around 200,000 children living in poverty in Wales, and the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission annual report, published this week, states that only 26% of children in Wales who receive free school meals go on to get five good GCSEs compared with 38% over the border in England. Wales, of course, has the highest rate of child poverty in the UK, which has been rising since 2004. As the new Minister responsible, what actions are you taking now to address this blatant inequality?
15:04
 Lesley Griffiths
I do not think that child poverty or any type of poverty is inevitable. I think that it is totally unacceptable. We have already done a great deal of work. We have not been helped by the welfare reform coming from your Government in London or by the significant budget cuts that we have to pass on. We have done our best to protect budgets—I referred to Flying Start particularly. Next month, I will be consulting on the next child poverty strategy, and I mentioned in a previous answer that there is more that we can do. For instance, we know that food poverty has become much more of a problem in Wales recently, so that is something that we can look at within the new strategy as we go forward.

Welsh Conservative Debate
Motion NDM5604 Paul Davies
To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:
1. Notes that despite the additional funding for apprenticeships in the past two budget deals, in-year cuts of £10.7million has left learning providers in limbo.
2. Calls on the Welsh Government to clarify the number of apprenticeships created since 2011.
3. Further calls on the Welsh Government to ensure the final study of Jobs Growth Wales' terms of reference will include an evaluation of the skills acquired by participants.

16:04
 Janet Finch-Saunders
I would like to thank Paul Davies and our own group for bringing a debate forward that, while talking about apprenticeships, gives me the opportunity to speak about the almost forgotten sector within our society, and that is the number of people now struggling to find training opportunities as they get older. As a result, it can certainly be particularly difficult to find new employment, especially if you are over 50.
 This is not the first time that I, or other Members, have raised the issue of training for over-50s with the Welsh Government. Earlier this year, I specifically asked the First Minister to advise me what was in place for them and what schemes were available. The answer came back very—well, I did not really receive an adequate answer that addressed the actual question. I then submitted a written question to the then-Minister for Education and Skills asking him to provide specific information on education and the training programmes available. Again, I got a very protracted response, but he could not tell me what schemes were available.
 The latest figures show that, in Wales, there are over 16,000 people aged between 50 and 64 actively seeking employment. However, employers and recruitment agencies are often focused on targeting the recruitment of younger people. There have been some excellent contributions so far, but the words ‘young’, ‘youth’, ‘younger trainees’ and ‘younger recruits’ were used a lot. So, I think I am quite right to be raising the concerns of those who are over 25. I have only to look around this Chamber, I think it fair to say, to see that there are far more people who are over 25—[Laughter.] However, I would hope that we are all still very valuable Members of this Chamber and are able to contribute. Well, so, too, are those who are not in this Chamber and who are on our unemployment list.
 These are very valuable individuals who have already contributed a great deal to the workplace and society in general. They are capable and want to deliver more. They have wide-ranging knowledge, skills and valid experience that would make them a really worthwhile asset to any business or even the public sector. To be overlooked is almost ageism in itself. Sadly, in Wales, around 41% of unemployed people aged 50 to 66 have been unemployed for at least a year compared with 18% of 18 to 24-year-olds. That is 41% against 18%. From these statistics, it is clear to see that the Welsh Government is failing to see the employment of this age group as a priority.
 I would like the recently appointed Minister to tell me today the names of some schemes. Tell me the number of people over that age group whom your Government has managed to actually get back into active employment in the last 12 months.

 16:07
Simon Thomas
Will the Member give way?

16:07
 Janet Finch-Saunders
Yes.

 16:07
Simon Thomas
She is making a very important point, of course, about access for all ages. All ages are able to go into apprenticeships in Wales, but is she aware that, in England, there are no grants or support schemes for apprentices of the age groups she is talking about?

16:07
Janet Finch-Saunders
Frankly, with all due respect to the Member, I am an Assembly Member for Aberconwy here in Wales. I am not interested. Right now, it is about what the Welsh Government is doing here.
All too often, the main barrier for people of age can be a basic lack of technology skills and skills for a particular job, as things have changed over the years. This fact has been recognised by the Welsh Government’s strategy for older people. I certainly look forward to seeing more schemes set up to enhance IT skills. However, in Aberconwy, we have seen training for those skills withdrawn.
 

The Welsh Government is well aware of these facts. Its inaction in addressing the issue of age discrimination is entirely contradictory given its rhetoric on equality and diversity, when it considers factors such as race, religion and sexuality. You very rarely hear about the age profile of individuals. It is estimated that, by 2020, a third of the workforce here in Wales will be over 50, as people remain in good health and live longer. With this in mind, people will need fresh opportunities to learn, relearn, retrain and acquire new skills through training and apprenticeships. It is up to the Welsh Government to ensure that these are available.
 I passionately believe that the over-50s should be afforded the reassurance they deserve from the Welsh Government, and that they should feel very valued members of our society and indeed, of the Welsh workforce in years to come.