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Safeguarding

Is this devolved to Wales?

Where is this happening?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

Charts (if needed)

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£ 00 million Total

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Who has raised this at the Senedd?

Delyth Jewell MS

Deputy Minister for Social Care

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Sera Evans MS

Chair: Education & Young People

Beca Brown MS

Backbencher

Catherine Cullen MS

Shadow Minister for Children

Claire Archibald MS

Shadow Social Care Minister

Andrew Griffin MS

Chair: Public Accounts

Lynne Neagle MS

Labour Whip

Natasha Asghar MS

Backbencher

Sam Rowlands MS

Chair: Finance

Jane Dodds MS

Backbencher

Delyth Jewell MS

Deputy Minister for Social Care

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Sera Evans MS

Chair: Education & Young People

Beca Brown MS

Backbencher

Catherine Cullen MS

Shadow Minister for Children

Claire Archibald MS

Shadow Social Care Minister

Andrew Griffin MS

Chair: Public Accounts

Lynne Neagle MS

Labour Whip

Natasha Asghar MS

Backbencher

Sam Rowlands MS

Chair: Finance

Jane Dodds MS

Backbencher

What are the party positions on this?

Plaid Cymru backbenchers have supported the government’s current approach, particularly a desire to listen to, and learn from, the experiences of those who’ve gone through safeguarding procedures.

I very much welcome the emphasis on a whole-system approach to safeguarding, and the ambition to strengthen the system's capacity for early identification and intervention, moving us away from a predominantly reactive model towards one that is genuinely preventative and intelligence led....As you've (Deputy Minister) said, centring lived experience at the heart of safeguarding means that experiences should actively inform the systems and practices designed to protect children, and organisations should be able to demonstrate what has changed as a result.

Reform UK MSs have expressed a desire for safeguarding decisions to be made more quickly due to the stress investigations can cause.

An allegation must be taken seriously. It must never be treated as a verdict. Immediate protective action may be necessary while facts are established. The action must reflect the risk, being regularly reviewed and accompanied by a fair and timely investigation. Where a process becomes unnecessarily prolonged or poorly co-ordinated, the consequences of this can reach into someone's livelihood, family life, confidence and mental health. For a foster family, an investigation affects their home.... Avoidable delay serves nobody.

No-one disputes that children need to be safe from neglect, harm or abuse, and in that way, the statement's right. But we have to be realistic about what is happening on the ground in Wales. Across Wales, we have more than 7,000 looked-after children, around 4,800 living in foster placement, yet Wales needs 550 new foster carers every year. And at a time when the numbers of foster carers are declining, demands continue to rise. In Wales, more than 20% of foster parents who left cited safeguarding allegations as the reason.

Labour MSs have backed the findings of previous reviews into safeguarding policies and support the principle of learning from experiences on the ground.

It's been nearly a year since I made a statement on 'Our Bravery Brought Justice'….Now, the overriding failure, really, that ran right the way through that report was the failure to listen to the voice of the child on, literally, countless occasions. Now, you've referred to the importance of children's voice today and embedding that in the work that you're doing, but what I would like to hear is some more detail as to how you are going to do that, because children's voice can't just be an issue for agencies out there—it has to be embedded in the Government's efforts to safeguard children.

Conservative MSs have some doubts over how new safeguarding policies will work in the real world, whilst backing the principle of change.

Whilst I welcome the Government's aim of delivering stronger safeguarding for a safer Wales, there are some important questions about how this is actually going to work. You say that the Government will strengthen national leadership, oversight and accountability, but who will ultimately be accountable if safeguarding arrangements fail, and what consequences will there be when agencies do not perform effectively? Deputy Minister, I am curious to know what, if anything, these proposed reforms will mean for staff on the front line, like social workers and teachers.

Green MSs haven’t said anything on this yet.

Test Test Test

Jane Dodds supports strong safeguarding policies, but doesn’t believe child protection officers feature enough in the proposed changes.

I had been a child protection social worker for 25 years before I came into politics, and I cannot tell you how difficult and challenging it is to be a child protection social worker. It is so hard to do a job where you are, if you're doing a good job, listening to the child and the young person, and you are looking at all of the risks, and you bear the risks. I'm grateful to Natasha (Asghar) for mentioning....child protection social workers, because they are the critical front line in all of the changes you seek. You are looking at a wholesale, or the potential of a wholesale, reorganisation of this service.

Who is responsible?

Delyth Jewell MS

Deputy Minister for Social Care

What have ministers said?

We need a safeguarding system that continuously learns, identifies risks earlier, shares intelligence effectively and acts before harm escalates. We need a safeguarding system that is joined up, accountable and ensures that lessons lead to consistent improvement across Wales....While Wales has strong legislative foundations, safeguarding governance has become fragmented, with inconsistent intelligence arrangements, limited national oversight and a need for clearer accountability.

The national social care intelligence hub will strengthen an approach of learning from every case. Our aim will be to ensure that these lessons are translated into action, that safeguarding partners are supported to respond effectively to emerging risks and that people across Wales are better protected from abuse, neglect, exploitation and harm. And a defining feature of this programme will be the commitment to ensure people's voices are heard and acted upon as a result.

What's being done about this?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What have the Senedd's Committees said?

Nothing has been discussed yet.

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