Julie Morgan, AS Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
Coronavirus has had – and continues to have – a profound and ongoing impact on all aspects of our lives.
For children, and some of our most vulnerable children, young people and families, the impact of the virus and the challenges they face are far greater.
To help address those challenges and meet those needs, I am today announcing the continuation of the Child Development Fund of £3.5 million for a further 6 months to October 2021. This will provide funding to all local authorities in Wales to enable them to address concerns around developmental delay due to lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic including speech, language and communication delay; fine and gross motor skills delay; and personal and social development.
The focus will be on boosting early intervention and for the under 5s to address needs as early as possible rather than allowing problems to escalate to a point of crisis or the point of no return. This approach will go some way in supporting our youngest children to build resilience as well as attain the critical life skills they will need to get the best start in life to enable them to fulfil their potential.