As both the Patron of the FDF Centre for Independent Living (formerly Flintshire Disability Forum), and Chair of the Cross Party Group on Disability in the Welsh Parliament, I was pleased to attend the Zoom meeting on ‘Covid 19 : De-escalation and the transition to normality for all disabled and shielded people’ hosted by The FDF Centre for Independent Living with attendees from across North Wales.
I had a constructive online meeting with the British Psychological Society (BPS) to discuss their Briefing Paper, Wales “From Poverty to Flourishing – Bringing psychology into action on poverty”, which calls on the Welsh Government to commit to developing a comprehensive, cross-departmental Anti-Poverty Strategy that places psychology at the heart of its approach and ‘families and communities at the heart of their coronavirus recovery plans’.
As their paper states, “Nearly a quarter of the population of Wales are living in poverty” and “These statistics present the stark reality of poverty in Wales over the last year, however the coronavirus crisis will undoubtedly exacerbate this situation”.
As the Parliamentary Champion for the Conservative Disability Group (CDG) in the Welsh Parliament, I spoke at their Q&A session about my journey into politics and experiences as a hearing aid wearer, as part of the Group’s ‘Accessible Politics’ project.
I also spoke of my regret that the Labour Welsh Government did not support Welsh Conservative calls for an Autism Act for Wales and that a survey published in November 2018 by the Cross Party Group on Neurological Conditions, which I Chair, on “People living with neurological conditions and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act (2014)” concluded that people living with neurological conditions in Wales are being failed by the implementation of the Act.
I concluded by encouraging my Party to “incorporate the Social Model of Disability into everything it does, recognising that people are not disabled by their impairments, but by the barriers to access and inclusion which society places in their way.”
As Honorary President of North Wales-based NWAMI, ‘Networking for World Awareness of Multicultural Integration’, I sent a recorded message on the importance of tolerance and respect for all cultures and traditions to be played at their Interfaith Gathering.
Figures show that the Chancellor’s ‘Eat out to Help Out’ scheme excelled expectations, with 2,957 outlets in Wales signing up as of 27 August 2020, including 661 in North Wales. Of the 2,307,000 meals claimed for across Wales, 446,000 were in North Wales.
Stay safe. If you need my help, email [email protected] or call 0300 200 7219.