North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has challenged the Welsh Government this week over the fact that one year on from the introduction of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, local authorities are failing to comply with the new legislation.
Responding to the Statement on the Act in the Assembly yesterday, Mr Isherwood said that despite the former Minister of Social Services, Gwenda Thomas AM, acknowledging the need to promote and support direct payments, concerns were raised with him as recently as Sunday, at a World Autism Day event, that “not only are some people still not receiving the promotion and support, but people who receive care are still, in some local authorities, being told they can’t have direct payments, even when they ask for them.”
He said: “This is about managing understanding, and ensuring that local authorities’ officers at a senior level understand this is no longer an option; it’s Welsh law.”
He added: “The Social Services and Well-being Act places a specific duty on local authorities to promote the involvement of people in the design and delivery of care and support services. Code 2 to the Act recognises that disabled people can achieve their potential and fully participate as members of society, consistent with the Welsh Government’s Framework for Action on Independent Living’, which expresses the rights of disabled people to participate fully in all aspects of life.
“However, in North Wales alone, since this has come into play, and over recent months, I’ve had members of the deaf community saying they’ve had their British Sign Language support and wider support taken from them; a haemophiliac being denied employment by a local authority after a medical; a person with Down’s Syndrome not being involved in the decisions over their supported living; wheelchair users being denied access to public footpaths; and people on the autism spectrum facing officers who don’t have the basic autism awareness needed to understand them.
“As Chair of Cross-Party Groups on Neurological Conditions, Disability, Autism and others, I’m aware there’s a Wales-wide issue with some local authorities over how the introduction of generic ‘ Integrated Access Teams’ is being used as an excuse to withdraw that personalised support where condition-specific support is needed.
“How, urgently, will you intervene with local authorities now, or perhaps after the (local government) election, to ensure that officers and the newly elected executive members understand that this is your requirement, the requirement of your Government, and the requirement of this whole Assembly?”
Mr Isherwood added: “I’m sick of having to write to local authority officers detailing the legislation in this respect with which they should be complying, because of the Labour Welsh Government’s failure to see through the purpose of their legislation by ensuring action on the frontline. After the fight to get this legislation, disabled people and those with life-long conditions should not be paying the price for this.”