Call for UK Government to protect vulnerable tenants

Communities Minister Lesley Griffiths has called on the UK Government to protect vulnerable tenants in supported housing from planned changes to housing benefit.

The UK Government has announced it will be capping housing benefit for people living in the social rented sector at the same level as those in the private sector. The sector has higher rents than the private sector because of the services provided such as personal care, support or supervision.

The failure to exempt supported housing from the changes would mean many vulnerable people would be unable to pay their rent, putting them at risk of becoming homeless, and threatening their health and well-being.

The Minister said: “Supported housing plays a vital role in caring for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. The sector provides far more than simply accommodation – it offers a whole range of support, from 24 hour emergency response services for older people, to therapy for people suffering from mental health problems.”

New measures to tackle liver disease in Wales

Alcohol care teams will be developed in each health board and a national awareness campaign created as part of a series of new measures to tackle the rise in deaths caused by liver disease in Wales, Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced.

Deaths from liver disease in Wales have more than doubled in the past 20 years, largely due to the rise in obesity, alcohol misuse and blood borne viral hepatitis. Cases of liver disease as a result of these three causes are almost entirely preventable.

Backed by £2.4m in funding over the next three years, the measures will support the delivery of the Welsh Government’s Together for Health - Liver Disease Delivery Plan, which sets out how NHS Wales and its partners will work together to halt the rise in liver disease in Wales.

The Deputy Minister said: “The number of people suffering liver disease in Wales is increasing. We know some of it is unavoidable, but much is a result of how we live our lives - alcohol continues to be the biggest cause of liver disease in Wales.”

£43m capital boost ‘will create 800 jobs

Schools and social housing projects across Wales are set to benefit from an immediate £43 million capital investment boost, Minister for Finance and Government Business Jane Hutt has announced.

This investment will also provide a boost to employment in Wales supporting up to 800 jobs - including 300 in the design and build of new schools in our communities and 500 in providing affordable housing.

A total of £23m will be allocated to 21st Century school projects across all 22 local authorities during 2015-16, supporting the rebuild and refurbishment of over 150 schools and colleges.

A further £20m will be allocated to the Social Housing grant helping build approximately 230 affordable homes across the country. The Minister said: “We have always been clear about the importance of investing in our infrastructure both in terms of the social and economic benefits it brings. I am therefore delighted to be able to announce an immediate boost of £43m for social housing and 21st century schools projects across Wales during this current financial year.”

Proposed new service to provide SPECS to children in special schools

New plans to establish an eye care service for pupils and students at special schools in Wales have been unveiled by Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford.

The plans, which would be the first nationwide service of its kind, will be subject to a three-month consultation. While visual impairment and blindness is relatively rare in children and young people, research by Cardiff University in 2012 showed a high proportion of pupils attending special schools have uncorrected refractive errors and some have previously unrecognised vision impairment.

The Minister said: “Preventing avoidable sight loss and the early identification of sight problems starts in childhood but for children and young people with learning disabilities there is evidence of barriers to accessing eye care and high unmet need.”

Welsh fund to support disabled people to live independently to continue

A total of £27m is being made available to maintain support for more than 1,600 disabled people in Wales to live independently, Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed.

The Welsh Independent Living Grant (WILG) was set up by the Welsh Government in July 2015, following a decision by the UK Government to close the Independent Living Fund (ILF).

The WILG supports disabled people with significant care needs who used to receive payments from the ILF to meet the additional costs of living independently, which include help with eating and drinking; cooking and preparing food and drink; assistance with dressing; cleaning, laundry and other domestic duties.

The Minister said: “I’m pleased to confirm that the Welsh Government’s draft budget for 2016-17 contains £27m to enable the WILG to continue until 31 March 2017 as planned.”

New plan to improve ear, nose and throat services

New community-based audiology services capable of managing direct referrals from primary care for hearing loss, tinnitus and dizziness are to be set up in Wales, freeing up hospital-based services to treat the most complex cases,

Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced. The move is part of a new Welsh Government plan to transform ear, nose and throat (ENT) services in the Welsh NHS.

The National ENT Implementation Plan aims to improve patient experience and outcomes, whilst developing a sustainable service, building on a series of developments to provide effective and efficient planned care for implementation by health boards across Wales.

The Deputy Minister said: “The ENT plan I’m publishing sets out a number of important changes we will make to services so that the NHS continues to provide sustainable planned care services that improves patient outcomes.”

£45m new investment to deal with winter pressures

The NHS in Wales will receive an extra £45m of new investment to help it respond to winter pressures, the Welsh Government has announced.. The money for this financial year will come from Welsh Government reserves and will help health boards across Wales treat and care for the increase in people using services at this time of year.

During the first week of January alone, the health service experienced a significant surge in demand for urgent and emergency care services above and beyond that experienced in the same period of 2015.

Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford said: “Much like other parts of the UK, urgent and emergency care services in Wales have experienced periods of significant pressure and demand since the start of the year. There has been a sharp rise in the number of people seeking treatment and care at emergency departments and a peak in ambulance arrivals at hospitals throughout Wales.”