CONSULTATON
RESPONSE: Social Services and Well-being Bill – Stage
one.
NYAS Cymru is part of NYAS, a
rights based charity representing and advocating on behalf of
children, young people and vulnerable adults across both Wales and
England. We provide commissioned services across Wales to looked
after children/young people, children in need, young care leavers
and vulnerable families.
NYAS Cymru welcomes the
opportunity to respond to the Bill and have the following
recommendations:
- The Bill will need guidance and
a code of practice that clearly outlines agencies roles, duties,
functions, governance and accountability.
- NYAS are concerned that creating
one single law for adults and children classed as in need will
become complex and that the issues affecting children and young
people will become lost in an adults world.
- Advocacy services are mentioned
within the provision of social work which will come under the
proposed definition of social care services. Advocacy services for
children, young people and vulnerable people need to be independent
and therefore placing this service under social work is not
appropriate without clearly stating it is an independent service
provided by organisations external to social services.
- We urge the Health and Social
Care Committee and the Children and Young people’s Committee
to include in the Bill legislation to ban physical punishment of
children in Wales. We believe the time has come to end
“reasonable punishment” and that the Welsh Government
should make a commitment to legislate the rights of children/young
people not to be subjected to any form of violent
punishments.
End