Mike welcomes passage of landmark Social Services Bill

A landmark Welsh Government Bill designed to transform and revolutionise the way social care and services are delivered throughout Wales has passed through its final Assembly hurdle this week and will now go on to become Welsh law.

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill, which was introduced and led by Deputy Social Services Minister Gwenda Thomas, received the strong backing of Assembly Members in a final vote in the Senedd on Tuesday evening, which saw the Bill pass by 53 – 5.

The Bill’s key achievements include:

• Equalising the standards of social care throughout Wales to benefit children, adults and carers;
• Providing carers with the same rights as those they care for;
• Providing service users with a greater say over the services they want and need within their locality;
• Creating new safeguarding provisions for vulnerable adults for the first time, and;
• Creating a National Adoption Service to speed up the adoption of children in need of a permanent home.

Commenting on the passage of the Bill after voting in favour of it, Labour AM for Swansea East Mike Hedges said:

“I’m proud to have voted in favour of passing this ambitious Bill, which will transform and improve the way the way people throughout Wales receive social care and support in the future.

“We know that over the years, social services been faced with a number of fundamental challenges, particularly with demographic changes and the pressure on public finances.

“The Bill recognises these challenges, and as law, will create a fairer, equal and more sustainable social care system that better meets the needs and requirements of both service users and carers.”