North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has emphasised the need for the Welsh Government to hold Local Authorities to account for the discharge of their duties under Welsh legislation, highlighting casework in Flintshire where neurodiverse people are being let down.
In February, Mr Isherwood challenged the Education Minister over Welsh Government support for neurodiverse pupils and told him that from the casework he receives, it is clear that breaches of Welsh Government legislation are still happening, particularly in Flintshire.
Speaking in yesterday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, he raised the matter with the Minister for Local Government, again referring to cases in Flintshire where neurodiverse people and their families have been let down.
He said:
“After I questioned the First Minister two weeks ago here regarding the statutory duties placed on local authorities under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, the First Minister concluded, 'local authorities continue to be held to account for the discharge of responsibilities that lie not with the Welsh Government but with them.'
“However, I continue to hear almost daily from neurodiverse people or people with neurodiverse family members in Flintshire, whose rights under this Act are being dismissed.
“This includes cases where constituents are unilaterally accused of breaching a Direct Payment Agreement, despite constituents stating that there have been no Care and Support Plan review, Direct Payment agreement or Support Plan in place, and the legislation stating that a ‘Local Authority must be prepared to be open to new ideas and be as flexible as possible’.
“Attending an Autistic constituent's review meeting recently, I also witnessed an Autistic meltdown triggered by Officer failure to adjust to my constituent's needs. Although an Autistic meltdown is not bad behaviour, the Council have blamed the constituent and dictated how future meetings will be conducted.
“How will the Welsh Government therefore ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of Local Authority discharge of their responsibilities when, without this, Welsh legislation is meaningless?”
In her response, the Minister said: “Local Authorities under the Act are now required to keep their performance under review, including publishing an annual self-assessment of how effectively they are exercising their functions, and those first self-assessment reports are now available, and councils are also required to undertake a panel or peer assessment once in every electoral cycle.”
Speaking afterwards, Mr Isherwood said:
“Surely it is the Minister’s role to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of Local Authority performance under Welsh legislation, especially when people needing care and support instead report pain and blame”.