The Health and Social Care Committee undertook periodic scrutiny of the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales.

 

The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales is responsible for:

• promoting awareness of the rights and interests of older people in Wales;
• challenging discrimination against older people in Wales;
• encouraging best practice in the treatment of older people in Wales; and
• reviewing the law affecting the interests of older people in Wales.

 

The Commissioner’s role and statutory powers are set out in the Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Act 2006 and the Commissioner for Older People in Wales Regulations 2007.

 

More information about the work of the Commissioner is available on the Commissioner’s website.

 

Latest work

The Committee agreed to invite the Commissioner to its meeting on 20 January 2016. The primary aim of the meeting was to hear the Commissioner’s views on actions taken to date to implement the recommendations of the Committee’s report on residential care for older people and the Commissioner’s care home review.

 

To inform the session the Committee requested written evidence from the Commissioner (cover letter [PDF, 480KB], timeline of events [PDF, 41KB], written evidence [PDF, 566KB]) and the Minister for Health and Social Services (cover letter [PDF, 160KB], update on the Committee’s recommendations from its inquiry into residential care for older people [PDF, 119KB]). The progress reports from both the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales and the Welsh Government to the Commissioner, which are referenced in the Minister’s letter, are published in annexes C and D of the Commissioner’s written evidence.

 

Following the session the Committee wrote to the Minister for Health and Social Services (PDF, 377KB) to seek further assurances and clarification on a number of issues. A copy of this letter was sent to the Commissioner and Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales given its relevance to their work.  The letter was also sent to the First Minister given his overall responsibility for public appointments, including those of statutory commissioners in Wales.

 

The Minister for Health and Social Services  (PDF, 215KB) and the Commissioner responded (PDF, 474KB) in March 2016.