Public Affairs Update - November 2023

Wales Public Affairs Update – November 2023

The Welsh Government

Additional Learning Needs reforms

The Education and Welsh Language Minister made a statement in plenary on the implementation of Additional Learning Needs reforms. Areas for improvement include "greater consistency in the quality of practice and provision to support person-centred planning and the development of individual development plans; clear expectations in relation to the balance of responsibility between schools and local authorities and ensuring that schools are fully aware of duties under the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018; and …  more clarity over what constitutes additional learning provision, that is, something additional to, or different from, the provision made generally across maintained schools, further education and nursery education".

Disabled children's access to education

The Education Minister provided oral evidence to the Senedd's Children, Young People and Education Committee on 29 November on disabled children's access to education, alongside the Social Justice Minister and Minister for Social Services (read their written evidence) Among many actions listed, the Minister stated that he will look at school funding formulae to see how schools decide to spend their money; strengthening guidance on reduced timetables to ensure it's not used to tackle "challenging" behaviour, and refreshing their exclusion guidance (consulting on this in the new year). He also said, by the beginning of next year, they will have published a review of the professional standards (around disability), to identify the gaps in the understanding and skills of the workforce, so that teachers can then address shortfalls and get the training that they need.

Read our response to the committee.

Read our joint letter with the RCOT and RCSLT.

Devolving policing powers

On 14 November the Welsh Government announced that they have commissioned a review into devolving policing powers to Wales, in advance of the general election next year.

In the statement, they write:  

"We have… commissioned an independent team to work with key stakeholders to understand the benefits, opportunities, challenges and risks of a devolved policing model for Wales. The review is intended to propose a long-term vision for a devolved policing service in Wales, including its underpinning principles and values and the overall outcomes we might expect to see for people and communities. It is also being asked to report on the practical considerations associated with implementing policing devolution in Wales."

Belonging, Engaging, and Participating guidance

The Welsh Government has published their Belonging, Engaging and Participating guidance for maintained schools. It sets out approaches that can be used by schools, PRUs and EOTAS settings to help improve learner engagement and attendance, and by local authority services and other partners when attendance issues escalate.

Read our response to the initial consultation..

Senedd

Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill

The Welsh Parliament's Children, Young People and Education Committee is undertaking an inquiry into the general principles of the Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to establish a statutory duty on local authorities to ensure that all young people receiving maintained education are provided with the opportunity to experience residential Outdoor Education, for at least one week, at some stage during their school years. The Bill will also establish a statutory obligation for providers of maintained education to be allocated funding to enable them to do this. Further information on the Bill can be found on the Bill website.

Explanatory Memorandum (EM) for the Mental Health Standards of Care (Wales) Bill

The Welsh Conservative MS for Brecon and Radnorshire, and Shadow Minister for Mental Health, James Evans MS has produced an Explanatory Memorandum (EM) for the Mental Health Standards of Care (Wales) Bill. The Bill proposes improvement to both the Mental Health Act and the Measure in the devolved context where possible, namely to:

• replace the Nearest Relative provisions in the Act with a new role of Nominated Person.
• enshrine a change in the criteria for detention to ensure that people can only be detained if they pose a risk of serious harm either to themselves or to others, and that there must be a reasonable prospect of therapeutic benefit to the patient.
• introduce remote (virtual) assessment under 'specific provisions' relating to Second Opinion Appointed Doctors (SOADs), and Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHA).

It will also look to amend the Measure to ensure that there is no age limit to who can request a re-assessment of their mental health and to extend the ability to request a re[1]assessment to people specified by the patient.

Areas that the Bill will NOT consider are:

• advanced choices,
• shortening detention periods,
• amending frequency for MHRT reviews,
• amending S132 (duty on hospital managers) and s.117 (aftercare); and
• changing how the Act applies to patients with autism and LD.

UK Government

On 29 November, Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid MP led a debate in Westminster Hall on prisons in Wales, highlighting data collected by the Wales Governance Centre on the state of prisons. In it she said that Wales continues to have the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe, there are serious concerns about prisoners mental health and the high rates of suicide and self-harm, staff retention (particularly in Berwyn), overcrowding, high recall numbers, backlog in court cases, and the impact that all of this has on communities in Wales when prisoners are released. She called for full devolution of the criminal justice system to Wales.

Read our response to the Welsh Affairs Committe inquiry into Prisons in Wales.

Consultations

Welsh Government: White Paper on ending homelessness in Wales / deadline 16 January

The Welsh Government are consulting on: reform of existing core homelessness legislation; the role of the Welsh public service in preventing homelessness; targeted proposals to prevent homelessness for those disproportionately affected; and access to housing. For more information, click here: White Paper on ending homelessness in Wales | GOV.WALES

If you're a BPS member and are interested in attending a focus group to discuss the White Paper on 21 December, or if you'd like to send me your feedback via email, please contact me [email protected].

Members' views are welcomed as they will help inform our response.