, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
Well, it's entirely reasonable for you to have a different view, Jenny, and that's fair enough. The process that we're engaged in and the policy we have, the objectives we have, are all about delivering improvements in outcomes. We'll of course take on board…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
Indeed.
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
The point I'm making, Jenny, is it informs the commitment I have. It's not illusory, it's very real, because I see what that means in the lives of my constituents, as do others as well.
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
No, indeed, but the point I'm making is—
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
So, you have outcomes from our well-being framework about the progress we are and aren't making. I don't agree that, without a target, there won't be a focus. Actually, I think you'll find, when we go through the rest of this term and beyond, there really…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
Look, I was a member of the Government in January, and the child poverty strategy remains, and, actually, within that, you can see, in the objectives, if we can achieve those objectives, we will make a real difference for children growing up in poverty. We…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
If we delivered the objectives in the child poverty strategy, we would make a radical difference to the lives of children here in Wales. And I was the Deputy Minister for tackling poverty in my first ministerial role. We had a plan at the time that we wanted…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
I understand how all those things get reported and viewed. I'm clear about the need to refocus again on the first 1,000 days of a child's life to understand the difference we can make and to prioritise that within the Government and with our partners too. We…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
Dear, dear, dear.
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
No, this—. I'm a grown-up and I understand where that leads.
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
No, I'm not going into attacking the previous Government that I served in—
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
Well, we already have a child poverty strategy—it's about how we are actually able to deliver around that and for that. One of the things I've been really clear about is to refocus again on the first 1,000 days in a child's life, understanding the difference…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
Well, you know the Government rejected that recommendation. I think anyone who proposes that should think what you do if you reach a limit and you're not legally allowed to take on any extra work if you have another child who needs support, another family. Do…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
I think demanding a single-answer response to that would not be honest, because the Welsh Government has responsibilities and local authorities have responsibilities. We set policy frameworks, we make budget choices, and then local authorities make their own…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
I'll ask Taryn to come in, because I think this gets into a space that I think is really difficult. You talk about protecting those people from social workers; actually, we need social workers to be able to do their job to support people to help make choices…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
I think for elected members, particularly those who aren't aware, I think it is a useful question to get them to consider, because I don't think any elected member would say they'd be happy for their own child to have some of the experiences that children…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
I'll say something, and then I'll ask Taryn to come in and say something from a practitioner point of view as well. We know that this is something that—not just for the children and young people who are here today—is a broader challenge as well, and that…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
I think the challenge always is, 'What does that look like?', and if you design an architecture of reporting systems, how you get useful information from them and whether you're getting people to focus on what they actually need to do to improve outcomes for…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
I think you'll find that most new local authority councillors don't realise that they are corporate parents—don't realise that they've got end parental responsibilities for significant numbers of children they've never met. I think there's then a challenge…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
I think there are two specific things I can talk about: one is that part of the pupil development grant does include specific funding to try to support outcomes for care-experienced children. So, it's specifically taken account of in the way that grant is…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
The answer to that is 'yes' and 'no', John. So, yes, I expect the new Cabinet Secretary—and I've spoken to her—to want to deliver improved outcomes for children and young people in well-being and outcome terms, in terms of what education provides for them and…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
Look, I'll deal with the Bill again and I'll say something about where we are in improving outcomes with and for neurodiverse people, and then I'll ask Alistair to deal with some of the more specific points. So, on the Bill, Mark, I don't think today is the…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
And that is part of the challenge, isn't it? You want to see the most urgent action taken, and yet, actually, if you intervene before you’re ready, and before you have the right intervention, you could actually make the situation worse. And we do know that…
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
Alistair will—[Inaudible.]—then I'll deal with the financial point.
, Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Care-experienced children
That always has to continue. What I can't do though, Jenny, is I can't tell you that there is a particular issue that I can put my finger on that will deliver the increase in pace that everyone in this room, not just around this table, would want to see. That…
