Following the Shadow Cabinet reshuffle by new Welsh Conservative Leader, Paul Davies AM, I am now Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, and Shadow Minister for North Wales. My Scrutiny Committee membership has also been swapped to the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee.
However, having taken part in the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee ‘Post Legislative Scrutiny of the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013’, I spoke in the Assembly Debate on our resulting report. This legislation aimed to make it easier for people to walk and cycle for every day journeys, but, as I noted, our Report states “It’s time now for the (Welsh) Government to change its own behaviour, show some real leadership and get the Act’s ambitions on its feet and moving”. As I also said, “In describing co-production techniques as merely a ‘tool to develop good schemes’ illustrates the Cabinet Secretary’s (Ken Skates) continuing failure to understand that co-production is about doing things differently, designing and delivering services with people and communities in order to improve lives and strengthen communities”.
Questioning the First Minister, I referred to the Department for Work and Pensions’ external recruitment of Community Partner Teams from people with lived experience of disability, for a 12-month project to shape the support for disabled people and people with health conditions, and to provide advice and training to job coaches in Job Centres to enable better understanding and support. I also referred to the presentation by the DWP Community Partnership Team for North and Mid Wales when I Chaired the previous week’s Assembly Cross-party Autism Group meeting in Wrexham, and asked him what involvement the Welsh Government has had in this programme and whether he would join us in calling for this 12-month programme to be extended.
I attended the Cross Party Group on Stroke, which included a presentation by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board on ‘Assessing the workforce needs of hyper-acute stroke units in North Wales', and a Vodafone event to discuss their ‘Digital Super Towns’ report and their wish to improve 4G mobile coverage in North Wales by working in partnership with Local Authorities and the Welsh Government.
Having played a small part in supporting the passage of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act through the Assembly, I was delighted to attend the premiere of a film about the successful RCN campaign for this.
Other Assembly engagements included Fair Trade Wales, ‘Tackling Fraud in Wales’, and ‘Love Zimbabwe’.
If you need my help, please email mark.isherwood@assembly.wales or ring 0300 200 7219.