Welsh Government has published its Programme for Government for the next Senedd term.
The Programme makes a handful of direct mentions of the voluntary sector. It commits to continuing ‘our strong partnership with voluntary organisations across the range of our responsibilities’, as well as ‘supporting Wales’ long tradition of volunteering, local charities, faith groups and community organisations’. This is welcome, although WCVA believes now is the time for a comprehensive approach to communities policy and to volunteering.
In pledges relating to specific areas of sector activity, Welsh Government say they will:
- Introduce an all-Wales framework to roll out social prescribing to tackle isolation.
- Reform primary care, bringing together GP services with pharmacy, therapy, housing, social care, mental health, community and third sector.
- Pay care workers the real living wage.
- Support innovative housing development to meet care needs.
- Put social partnership on a statutory footing through the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill.
- Use the new network of Disabled People’s Employment Champions to help close the gap between disabled people and the rest of the working population.
- Support the creation of a Community Bank for Wales.
- Develop a Wales Community Food Strategy.
- Support 80 re-use and repair hubs in town centres.
- Implement and fund the commitments made in our Race Equality Action Plan.
- Pilot an approach to the Basic Income.
- Create a Welsh language Communities Housing Plan.
- Build 20,000 new low carbon social homes for rent.
- Fundamentally reform homelessness services to focus on prevention and rapid rehousing.
- Support cooperative housing, community-led initiatives, and community land trusts.
- Launch a new 10-year Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan for a zero-carbon economy.
- Implement our new Wales Transport Strategy.
If you want to see more of how we believe the voluntary sector and Welsh Government can work together to improve the lives of people in Wales, please see WCVA’s voluntary sector manifesto.