Despite clear legal duties set out in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has today raised concerns that basic rights of Autistic people are being overlooked, reviews delayed, and individuals excluded from decisions about their own care.
As Chair of the Cross-Party Autism Group, Mr Isherwood has repeatedly highlighted failures in the system and after meeting with another Autistic constituent this week who is also experiencing problems, he raised the matter with the First Minister in the Senedd Chamber today.
He said:
“Yesterday, I attended the Care and Support Plan Review of yet another Autistic Flintshire constituent, at their request.
“The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and it's Codes of Practice state that ‘an individual must feel that they are an equal partner in their relationship with professionals’; that ‘Care and Support Plans must contain a clear date, agreed with the individual, by which the plan will be reviewed, however, in the case of an adult, the date of review must not exceed 12 months’ - this was two years; that ‘In all cases, where appropriate and with the agreement of the person concerned, the local authority should also involve specified others, including other practitioners and professionals with expertise in the circumstances or needs of the person concerned’; and that, ‘where eligible care and support needs have been identified, and the individual expresses a wish to receive one, Direct Payments must be available in all cases where they enable personal outcomes to be achieved’.
“But these requirements are routinely ignored.
"What is the purpose of Welsh Government legislation if it is not monitored and, when necessary, enforced, or at least support put in place, to ensure that the practitioners are doing it right?”
In her response, the First Minister said:
"You are quite right: we need to make sure that the statutory duties that we set out in law are actually enacted, and we do have organisations to make sure that that happens."
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Isherwood said:
“Week after week, month after month, year after year, Autistic constituents and their families tell me that both this legislation and the Welsh Government’s Statutory Code of Practice on the Delivery of Autism Services are being breached by Public Bodies, despite the Welsh Government’s statement that the Code would reinforce ‘existing duties of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and the NHS (Wales) Act 2006 as an alternative to a separate Autism Bill’.”
