Welsh Conservative Shadow Secretary for Communities, Mark Isherwood AM, has questioned the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Carl Sargeant AM, in the Assembly this week over his plans regarding the development of Local and Regional Networks.
Speaking in the Chamber, Mr Isherwood referred to the Young Foundation’s ‘Valuing Places’ report, funded by Welsh Government, and based on research in three areas, including the Cabinet Secretary’s own home town, which said that establishing local networks to connect people together who want to take local action should be a priority.
He said: “In your foreword to the Welsh Government’s Information Advice Action Plan, you say that strong and well-integrated advice services have an important role to play in promoting the well-being and prosperity essential to building resilient communities, and, of course, that’s absolutely correct.
“Based on the recommendations received from the National Advice Network, your Action Plan states that local and regional networks will be key contributors to both the Welsh Government publication of its Independent Advice Needs Analysis and the National Advice Network, although the first was published in March 2017, and the second working group established in 2017-18. How, therefore, will you accommodate this when your plan also says that working with and encouraging the development of local/regional networks won’t happen until 2018 onwards?”
The Secretary told Mr Isherwood that “while the proposals may suggest 2018 in terms of timeline, actually, we’ve started that process already” by “engaging with communities with regard to our longer term vision on the way to have resilient communities.”
Mr Isherwood also spoke of the good practice of a local network intervention operating in North Wales.
“One of the local organisations I’ve referred to you, which is delivering an internationally developed, world-class service, is the Eagle House Youth Development Community Interest Company, working in Snowdonia, based on Anglesey, and their Young Achievers Programme, helping to tackle offending by supporting young people upfront.
“They’ve run two successful contracts with Job Centres, and continue to deliver across North Wales for them. They’ve also been contracted by Local Education Authorities across North Wales to provide residential behavioural development courses for schools, but they’re still fighting to get their work with prolific offenders and reducing re-offending off the ground, even with the support of the Police offender management unit and probation, and they ask for a meeting with you.”
The Cabinet Secretary had previously written to Mr Isherwood stating that the Welsh Government provide funding directly to the Youth Offending Teams via local authorities, and it’s for them to commission that service directly from Eagle House, but Mr Isherwood insisted that he should engage directly with them to see for himself how effective this sort of local network intervention is.
Mr Isherwood also called on the Secretary for a update on plans to develop a National Citizen Service in Wales and was told the Welsh Government is still in discussions with the UK Government.
Mr Isherwood added: “This Cabinet Secretary needs to understand what Local Networks are, and to ensure that public service providers work ground up with the local people and organisations who are best placed to understand the issues and to design and deliver the solutions.