Meetings
NDM7287 Welsh Conservatives Debate - Looked-after children
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Meeting: 04/03/2020 - Plenary - Fifth Senedd (Item 6)
Welsh Conservatives Debate - Looked After Children
NDM7287 - Darren
Millar (Clwyd West)
To propose that the
National Assembly for Wales;
1. Notes the Public
Accounts Committee’s report into care experienced children and young people and
the Ministerial Advisory Group for Improving Outcomes for Children Programme’s
Annual Report 2019.
2. Further notes
that the life chances of looked-after children and care leavers are
significantly poorer than those children who are not in care.
3. Regrets that the
number of looked after children in Wales has risen by 34 per cent in the last
15 years, and that nearly 10 per cent of children in care have been in three or
more placements.
4. Calls on the
Welsh Government to:
a) urgently review
local authority plans on reducing the numbers of looked-after children;
b) assist local
authorities in recruiting 550 Welsh foster families to cover the gaps found by
the Fostering Network;
c) investigate
financial and rehabilitative support available to adoptive parents; and
d) ensure the roll
out of access to free positive parenting courses to be offered for all parents
and guardians across Wales .
Public
Accounts Committee report - Care Experienced Children and Young People -
November 2018
Ministerial
Advisory Group for Improving Outcomes for Children Programme’s Annual Report
2019
The following amendments have been tabled:
Amendment 1 - Sian
Gwenllian (Arfon)
Add as new point at end of motion:
Recognises that there are complex reasons
behind the increasing levels of children in care, but believes that the expectation
on local authorities to set targets in order to address the problem is a
superficial solution.
Amendment 2 - Neil
McEvoy (South Wales Central)
Add as new point at end of motion:
Believes that:
a) a well-recognised route out of care is
via good quality contact between looked after children and their parents;
b) contact ought not to be reduced or
restricted for the convenience of paid care providers; and
c) restricted contact can retain children
in care for longer than necessary.
Amendment 3 - Neil
McEvoy (South Wales Central)
Add as new point at end of motion:
Recognises that care leavers who become
parents are also at risk of discrimination and that all looked after children's
cases might usefully be revisited to check for any history of discrimination
against parents that contributed to their child remaining looked after.
Amendment 4 - Neil
McEvoy (South Wales Central)
Add as new point at end of motion:
Recognises that the profit motive should be
taken out of children's care and that private companies are not best placed to
serve the interests of children in Wales going forward.
Amendment 5 - Neil
McEvoy (South Wales Central)
Add as new point at end of motion:
Demands that children who allege abuse in
care are taken seriously and that they are provided with an advocate, spoken to
by a child protection specialist in a place of safety in order to go through
the issues they have raised.
Amendment 6 - Neil
McEvoy (South Wales Central)
Add as new point at end of motion:
Recognises that investigations of
complaints disputing facts in intake and assessment reports in relation to
looked after children need to be totally independent and not paid for by the
county council about whom the complainant is complaining.
Minutes:
The item started at 16.28
Voting
on the motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time.
A
vote was taken on the motion without amendment:
NDM7287 - Darren Millar (Clwyd West)
To
propose that the National Assembly for Wales;
1.
Notes the Public Accounts Committee’s report into care experienced children and
young people and the Ministerial Advisory Group for Improving Outcomes for
Children Programme’s Annual Report 2019.
2.
Further notes that the life chances of looked-after children and care leavers
are significantly poorer than those children who are not in care.
3.
Regrets that the number of looked after children in Wales has risen by 34 per
cent in the last 15 years, and that nearly 10 per cent of children in care have
been in three or more placements.
4.
Calls on the Welsh Government to:
a)
urgently review local authority plans on reducing the numbers of looked-after
children;
b)
assist local authorities in recruiting 550 Welsh foster families to cover the
gaps found by the Fostering Network;
c)
investigate financial and rehabilitative support available to adoptive parents;
and
d)
ensure the roll out of access to free positive parenting courses to be offered
for all parents and guardians across Wales .
For |
Abstain |
Against |
Total |
41 |
0 |
10 |
51 |
The motion without amendment was agreed.