Julie Morgan MS, Deputy Minister for Social Services
On 24th May this year I launched the Welsh Government’s Learning Disability Strategic Action Plan 2022 to 2026. This plan outlined our strategic learning disability policy priorities for the remainder of the current term of government.
During my oral statement I committed to the development of an accompanying Delivery and Implementation Plan which would set out the detailed activities that would underpin the successful delivery of the strategic policy priorities and the achievement of the outcomes highlighted in the strategic action plan.
Following extensive collaboration and co-production with stakeholders and partners from across the public and the third sector, including engagement with people with learning disabilities, their families, and carers, I am now pleased to publish the Learning Disability Delivery and Implementation Plan 2022-2026.
This plan again focuses on helping people with learning disabilities to lead active, healthy lives as valued members of society. It contains our commitments to working with individuals, groups, and service providers to develop and implement services that fully meet the needs of people with learning disabilities, while recognising the ongoing challenges we all face as we continue to emerge from the impact and implications of the Covid pandemic, while also working to mitigate the effects of the current cost-of-living crisis.
This work has been informed by the recent opportunities I have had to meet with and engage with individuals with lived experience and the organisations that support them. Hearing first-hand how the decisions we make and the policies we support impact on people with learning disabilities and their families, has been both informative and invaluable and I will continue to take every opportunity available to meet with and discuss the issues that affect people’s daily lives.
This ‘living plan’ is specifically designed to be flexible, to ensure we can adapt quickly and effectively to changes in circumstances and emerging priorities. The Delivery and Implementation Plan will therefore be published on the Welsh Government website and updated regularly by my officials.
Given my portfolio responsibilities, there is naturally a specific focus on priority actions across health and social services. However, there are also numerous important actions from a wide range of policy areas including Education & Training, Employment & Skills, Children and Young People, Housing and Transport.
The delivery plan will help deliver the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government commitments to tackle the challenges that we face and improve the lives of people across Wales, reflecting our values of community, equality and social justice, and our stated well-being objective to celebrate diversity and eliminate inequality in all its forms.
This will in turn contribute to the achievement of our national well-being goals for a prosperous, more equal Wales and cohesive communities. The plan has been developed through the application of the sustainable ways of working in the Well-Being of Future Generations Act, in particular the priority areas that seek a preventative approach and better integration of services.
The plan also supports the ethos of the Co-operation Agreement between the Welsh Labour Government and Plaid Cymru, as many of the priorities identified reflect our shared goals of reducing the inequalities experienced by many of the people of Wales.
I will be working closely with the Learning Disability Ministerial Advisory Group (LDMAG) who will be monitoring delivery of the actions within the plan and will be publishing an annual progress report on its achievements. The LDMAG will also be leading a formal review of both the Strategic Action Plan and the Delivery and Implementation Plan during spring 2024, to ensure progress in delivering our policy priorities is maintained and to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities across Wales.