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Julie James – 2023 Statement on the Publication of the Consultation Response for the Deposit Return Scheme

The statement made by Julie James, the Welsh Minister for Climate Change, on 20 January 2023.

The Minister for Climate Change is pleased to announce the publication of the Government response to the consultation on the Deposit Return Scheme. The response is published jointly with the UK Government and Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland.

This follows the joint consultation in March 2021 and feedback from this consultation has been evaluated in developing the final design for the Deposit Return Scheme for drink containers.

Following the publication of this response to the consultation https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/introduction-of-a-deposit-return-scheme-in-england-wales-and-northern-ireland, the next stage will be the development of secondary legislation required to implement the scheme.

09/02/2023
PRESS RELEASE : New drinks container return scheme for 2025 will help Wales improve world-leading recycling rates [January 2023]

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 20 January 2023.

Wales will be introducing a Deposit Return Scheme by 2025, Climate Change Minister Julie James confirmed today.

The new initiative will see us pay a small deposit when we buy a drink in a single use container, which we get back when we return the bottle or can.

Wales is working with England and Northern Ireland to set up a joint scheme, meaning you can buy a drink in Barry and return it in Bristol or Belfast.

Scotland is setting up its own scheme, which starts later this year.

The announcement follows legislation to ban a number of single use plastics.

Climate Change Minister Julie James said:

This is another step forward in moving Wales to a more circular economy where less waste is generated, and resources are reused and recycled rather than ending up in landfill.

Consultation has shown huge public support for the scheme’s introduction, and we know people in Wales want to play their part in improving our already world-leading recycling rates.

Wales is the third best country in the world for recycling, but we know we can and need to go further in tackling the waste that affects our cities and towns and blights our countryside and reducing our emissions.

Every year UK consumers go through an estimated 14 billion plastic drinks bottles and nine billion drinks cans, many of which are littered or condemned to landfill.

International examples show deposit return schemes can successfully improve recycling, with rates above 90% in Germany, Finland and Norway.

Through the financial incentive provided to consumers to return their single- use drinks containers, it is estimated that, after three years of the scheme, 85% fewer drinks containers will be discarded as litter, with a target to collect over 90% of returnable drinks containers once the scheme is up and running.

The materials captured in the deposit return scheme in Wales will be drinks containers made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, steel, glass, and aluminium.

09/02/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Further funding for project helping women in prison keep in touch with their children [January 2023]

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 20 January 2023.

A project to help Welsh mothers in prison maintain positive relationships with their children has had further funding confirmed.

Mick Antoniw, Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution, and Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice, visited HMP Eastwood Park in Gloucestershire to speak to frontline staff and people involved in the ‘Visiting Mum’ service.

‘Visiting Mum’, delivered by Pact (the Prison Advice & Care Trust), runs from HMP Styal in Cheshire as well as HMP Eastwood Park in Gloucestershire – the two most common locations for women in Wales being sent to prison. The service is designed to provide benefits for both mothers and their children.

As there are no prisons for women in Wales women serve custodial sentences in England, often at a considerable distance from their homes and families. ‘Visiting Mum’ helps strengthen family ties by facilitating closer contact between mothers and children.

Around half of women in prison are mothers, and the service identifies women who are at risk of losing contact with their children and offers specialist support. It then arranges visits, offers parenting and relationship programmes, offers transport to children, and provides ‘wraparound care’ for children after their visit.

An evaluation of the project found it was improving wellbeing among mothers and reducing the risk of self-harm, while also improving long-term outcomes for their children.

Between June 2021 and August 2022 ‘Visiting Mum’ supported 68 families. The project is joint funded by the Welsh Government and HM Prison and Probation Service, who are both contributing £90,000 in 2023-24 to ensure the scheme can continue.

Nadia Emblin, Pact Head of Service Delivery and Development – Wales and Western England, commented:

While we believe that custodial sentences for women should only ever be used as a last resort, Visiting Mum ensures better outcomes for both mothers in custody and their children in the community.

Our evaluation shows the positive impact of this kind of holistic support on the mental health and wellbeing of the whole family. It is also vital in reducing reoffending, as we know that prisoners who receive visits are 39% less likely to return to prison.

We are hugely grateful to our partners at Change Grow Live, and to the Welsh Government and HMPPS for ensuring the scheme can continue. One mum recently told us that it offered, “a light in the dark” for her during her sentence, and we hope that we can provide this hope for many more women in the future.

Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice, said:

Our approach to women’s justice stresses the importance of working with women in contact with the justice system in a holistic and rehabilitative way.

We continue to believe prison sentences should be a last resort, and are supportive of the proposed Residential Women’s Centre in Swansea which will provide an alternative to a prison sentence.

But for women who are in prison, often with long distances between themselves and their family, Visiting Mum can be an invaluable service that keeps them in contact with the people they love.

Mick Antoniw, Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution, said:

We believe one of the key elements of the justice system should be rehabilitation. Justice is about more than courts and punishment; it is about people and families. Supporting people in prison to lead fulfilling lives when they are out of prison is an important responsibility of any effective approach to justice.

The ‘Visiting Mum’ project is a positive example of this in action, with a rehabilitative approach leading to real benefits for both mothers and children.

UK government Minister for Prisons and Probation Damian Hinds said:

Keeping in touch with family is a vital lifeline for women in custody – supporting their wellbeing and reducing re-offending.

By funding services like Visiting Mum this government is helping to deliver better outcomes for women in prison, which in turn makes our communities safer.

09/02/2023
Jane Hutt – 2023 Statement on Women’s Safety in Public Places in Wales

The statement made by Jane Hutt, the Welsh Minister for Social Justice, on 19 January 2023.

Women and girl’s safety from abuse, both in public and private spaces, remains a priority for the Welsh Government. With violence against women again in the news, I wanted to set out how the Welsh Government is continuing to prioritise and address this issue.

Women and girls should be safe in all aspects of their lives. They should be safe to walk through public spaces. They should be safe at home. They should be safe to go to work and school. They should be safe in the day and safe at night.

No level of abuse is acceptable, but in fact we know that violence against women and girls is shockingly common. Harassment, abuse and violence are daily occurrences for women and have conditioned their lives for far too long. Misogyny and long-standing structural inequalities for women and girls sit at the heart of much of this. We are committed to challenging and addressing these damaging attitudes and behaviours head on.

Violence against women and girls is a societal problem which requires a societal response. It is not for women to modify their behaviour; it is for abusers to change theirs.

While it is right that, as part of our response, we look at options available to enhance women’s safety in public places, often these initiatives or schemes can place the burden on women to protect themselves or alter their behaviour. It is therefore vital that we also address the root causes of male violence against women, focusing on changing negative attitudes and cultures that allow violence and abuse to persist. Prevention and early intervention need to take centre stage, rather than solely focussing our attention on remedial measures.

Whilst we have all been shocked in recent years by the high-profile murders of women at the hands of strangers, many more women die every year at the hands of violent men who are known to them, and many 1000s more again suffer violence and coercive control that continues to blight their lives and opportunities. To change this, we must confront those committing the abuse, we must support survivors, and we must change the culture of misogyny and harassment that feeds the abuse.

That is why the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government commits to strengthening the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) Strategy to include a focus on violence against women in the street and workplace as well as the home in order to make Wales the safest place in Europe to be a woman.

Last year, the Welsh Government published our new five-year VAWDASV National Strategy, which will be delivered through a collaborative ‘blueprint approach’ alongside a group of key partner organisations including the police and specialist sector. In line with our commitment, one of these blueprint workstreams is Street Harassment and Safety in Public Places, which will provide a focus and expertise for an innovative approach to these issues.

Our ground-breaking Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 also created duties on local authorities and health boards in Wales to publish and implement strategies for addressing these issues in local communities. This ensures that tackling violence against women and girls is prioritised across Wales.

With all of these issues in mind, many men are asking how they can be a better ally to women. Men and boys can help by not committing, excusing, or remaining silent about any kind of harassment or violence against women. Where it is safe to do so, call out inappropriate behaviour.

Our campaign ‘Call out only’ aims to help people identify behaviours associated with street harassment and acknowledges that the experiences of women and girls are serious and prevalent and can cause fear, alarm and distress. The campaign calls on the public (males particularly) to call out and challenge assumptions about harassment against women – often wrongly seen as ‘harmless’ or excused using the word ‘only’ – with their peers, friends and colleagues.

I would also encourage anyone with concerns about their own behaviour, or that of others, or if you are suffering abuse yourself, to speak to the Welsh Government funded Live Fear Free helpline on 0808 80 10 800 or via webchat, email or text.

We will continue to work in partnership with specialist services to raise awareness of the inequality and safety issues faced by women and girls, and to end all forms of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. We will continue to work with Welsh police forces, Police and Crime Commissioners, public safety boards and the Crown Prosecution Service to improve practice, instil confidence in victims to report incidents of abuse and violence when they occur and to hold those who abuse to account.

Wales will not be a bystander to abuse.

09/02/2023
Jeremy Miles – 2023 Statement on School Improvement and the Information Landscape in Wales

The statement made by Jeremy Miles, the Welsh Minister for Education and Welsh Language, on 19 January 2023.

Over recent years, Wales has been moving towards a new way of teaching and learning which is focused on helping children and young people achieve the four purposes: to be ready to learn, to play a full part in life and work, to be citizens of Wales and the world, and be valued members of our society. The teaching profession has worked hard and creatively to build new curricula for their learners, and schools across Wales are now introducing the Curriculum for Wales. We have always been clear that we need to ensure that all aspects of the education system are aligned with and fully support the realisation of the new curriculum, and we have taken clear steps forward on both professional learning and implementation of the new qualifications from 2025.

Next steps – developing a new data and information ecosystem/landscape

In June 2022, I published school improvement guidance to introduce a new way for the education system to work together to support schools in their improvement, build confidence in the system and retain a clear focus on supporting all learners to progress through their education. In July, the Welsh Government published the curriculum evaluation scoping report which made recommendations for how we will know that our new curriculum is improving learning in Wales. Today we see the publication of the Developing a new data and information ecosystem that supports the reformed school system in Wales report, which sets out recommendations for approaches to using data and information, in a way that will allow partners across the system to work together to support all our learners, irrespective of background, to fulfil their potential.

The report outlines the different information needs within the system: the needs of learners and their parents, of schools, of local authorities, as well as the importance of information at a national level to form the basis for improvement across the system. I welcome this helpful evidence that will inform our thinking. The report proposes developing a broader suite of information on areas such as wellbeing (both learner and staff) and the development of learners’ skills integral to the four purposes. It makes clear that when analysing information, we consider the context of our schools and the challenges they face. This includes a more sophisticated understanding of relative economic disadvantage and learners’ additional learning needs, as well as the voice of learners.

It is crucial to have the right breadth of information to support evaluation and improvement, whether at a national level or a school level, but I wish to emphasise that the Welsh Government’s expectation is that information is used to support schools and local authorities to understand their own contexts and improve their own offer. It should not be used in isolation to judge performance or compare schools and information should be created for a clear purpose.

Outcomes from qualifications will continue to form a key part of a school’s evaluation and improvement considerations. In 2019, we introduced new transitional interim measures for secondary schools that ensured more focus on raising our aspirations for all learners. They removed the narrowed focus on borderline C/D grade pupils to instead recognise the achievement of all our learners at Key Stage 4. These measures were paused during the pandemic. I can confirm today that for an interim period, whilst we progress the development of a neutral approach to the information system, we will restart reporting of Key Stage 4 outcomes at school level using the approach adopted in 2019 (including the policy of counting only first entries of exams). We will report outcomes in the points score format, including the ‘Capped 9’, broken down by gender and eligibility for free school meals. There are clear benefits in retaining a recognised approach which reflects attainment in both general and vocational qualifications as well as the importance of every learner and their outcomes, and in minimising changes to the approach to reporting on an interim basis. We will develop further thinking to align with the introduction of new qualifications from 2025 as we develop our new information landscape.

Rolling programme of national sample assessments

It is very important to emphasise that this return to 2019 arrangements is only temporary as we move towards a more holistic system that promotes learning and puts learners, teachers and parents at the centre. It is important that we have transparency on what we are achieving at a national level too. The Welsh Government is commencing work on an ambitious programme of national monitoring of education. As outlined in the curriculum evaluation scoping report, this will include a rolling programme of assessments of samples of learners across the breadth of the Curriculum for Wales. This is not about testing every learner but understanding and monitoring the national picture of learners’ attainment and progress over time on a system-wide basis. This approach will minimise burdens on schools and the education system as a whole and help provide the information we need to understand our progress in tackling the impact of poverty on learners’ achievement and inform our approaches to addressing these issues. Development work for this programme is underway, and we expect to begin rolling out these sample assessments on a pilot basis in the academic year 2025/26, alongside the wider ecosystem development.

Practitioner engagement and co-construction

Building on the findings of today’s report, we will now work with practitioners across Wales to develop a shared set of information which can help to support learning by understanding learner progress, attainment and the components which drive them. This will be informed by the eight factors which support curriculum realisation set out in the school improvement guidance. We will have a particular focus on improving understanding of progress of disadvantaged learners. I will be keen to gain the views of parents in this work, to understand what information they will find useful. We will work with local authorities, regional consortia and partnerships alongside this to seek to build a coherent and consistent approach across Wales which supports learning and minimises workload for teachers and schools. The Welsh Government will be writing to schools in the coming weeks to provide further details, and I will provide further updates as this work progresses.

09/02/2023
Jeremy Miles – 2023 Statement on Student Support for Higher Education Students in the 2023/24 Academic Year

The statement made by Jeremy Miles, the Welsh Minister for Education and Welsh Language, on 19 January 2023.

During a cost of living crisis, it is more important than ever that every measure is taken to ensure that everyone, no matter their background, can access higher education.

In 2018, the Welsh Government introduced a progressive and equitable student support system that is unique in Europe for financing full and part time undergraduates and postgraduates. This system is based on supporting students with the cost of living while they study.

We have taken the decision that the rate of support for students is linked to the value of the National Living Wage – this will increase substantially in the 2023-24 financial year. Despite continuing budget pressures, I can confirm today that we have ensured that the value of support is increased accordingly at this time of exceptional cost-of-living pressures.

This means that the rate of maintenance support paid to full and part-time higher education students from Wales will increase by 9.4% for the 2023/24 academic year, subject to regulations being made early in February. In contrast, the UK Government has announced a 2.8% increase for students ordinarily resident in England.

Our financial support for students has increased steadily in recent years. This increase will apply to full and part-time students who began a course on or after 1 August 2018.

The Welsh Government continues to provide the most progressive student finance system in the UK. Welsh undergraduate students have less to repay on average than their English peers as they can access our generous living costs package of grants and loans. The highest level of grant support is given to those students most in need. A substantial part-time student support package is available, enabling students of all backgrounds to undertake part-time study.

Living costs should never be a barrier to studying at university. The increase in support I am announcing today will ensure that students from all backgrounds are able to access higher education.

09/02/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Welsh Students to Get More Help with Living Costs [January 2023]

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 19 January 2023.

The Welsh Government will increase student maintenance support by 9.4% for the 2023 to 2024 academic year, subject to regulations being made.

The average full-time Welsh student can claim £10,710 in maintenance grants and loans, which will rise to £11,720 thanks to this increase.

This will apply to full-time and part-time higher education students from Wales, who began a course on or after 1 August 2018.

Living costs support is rising in line with the National Living Wage, which is unique to Wales. In contrast, the UK Government has announced a 2.8% increase for students ordinarily resident in England.

The Welsh Government continues to provide the most progressive student finance system in the UK. Welsh undergraduate students have less to repay on average than their English peers as they can access our generous living costs package of grants and loans.

The highest level of grant support is given to those students most in need. A substantial part-time student support package is available, giving students from all backgrounds the chance to study part-time.

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles said:

Living costs should never be a barrier to studying at university. This increase in support will ensure that students from all backgrounds are able to access higher education.

Despite continuing budget pressures, I have ensured that the value of support is increased accordingly at this time of exceptional cost-of-living pressures.

09/02/2023

Eluned Morgan – 2023 Statement on Expansion in Training Places for the Health Professional Workforce in Wales

The statement made by Eluned Morgan, the Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services, on 18 January 2023.

Despite the challenges we face today, we continue to invest in the education and training of healthcare professionals in Wales. There is great demand on our NHS in Wales and the continued necessity to increase the training numbers and funding for essential health professionals in 2023/24. This is why, for the ninth consecutive year, funding to support health professional education and training in Wales will increase.

£281.98m will be invested in 2023/24; this equates to a 8% increase from 2022/23 which is an extra £1.7m for education and training programmes for healthcare professionals in Wales; £7.14m extra for medical training places, an extra £1.68m to support core GP training numbers and a net increase of £3.41m for pharmacy training across Wales. This will continue to be a record level of funding to support the highest ever number of training opportunities in Wales.

A well-trained NHS workforce with the right skills is essential to providing a sustainable high-quality care to people across Wales and improving standards in our health service.

I am proud of this government’s record on investing in education and training to support and sustain the health workforce across Wales. The NHS has more people working in it than at any time in its history, all aimed at prevention and care for members of society, across every community in Wales.

The Welsh Government remains committed to providing the NHS with the workforce it needs and these additional training places will increase the capacity of the workforce to help the NHS respond to the challenges facing it in the future.

Over the past five years nurse training places have increased by 41.3% and midwives have increased by 41.8%. Tables showing the increase in health professional and medical training places for 2023/24 can be found at Annex A.

Annex A

NHS Wales Education Commissioning and Training Plan for 2023/24

The following tables show the increase in health professional and medical training places for 2023/24.

Speciality	From	To	% Increase
Adult Nursing	1651	1892	14.6%
Mental Health Nursing	410	530	29.2%
Child	175	192	9.7%
Midwifery	185	190	2.7%
Dietetics	66	82	24.2%
Occupational Therapy	179	197	10%
Physiotherapy	174	180	3.4%
PhD Clinical Psychology	36	40	11.1%
Paramedics	116	120	3.4%
Operating Department practitioners	49	62	26.5%
Scientist Training Programme	39	53	36%
Higher Specialist Training	8	10	25%
Cardiac Physiology	23	24	4.3%
Audiology	11	12	9%
Respiratory & Sleep Science	8	14	75%
Neurophysiology	3	4	33%
Life Sciences (Bio Medical Sciences)	24	26	8.3%
Clinical Engineering	6	8	33%
Pre-registration Pharmacy Technicians	83	100	20.5%
Pharmacy Technicians	30	50	66.7%
Secondary Care/Speciality Training	89	92	3.4%
Foundation training	60	69	15%
Physician Associates	52	57	9.6%

Urgent and Emergency Care
Intensive Care Medicine	Increase of 3 higher Training Programme posts (fifth successive year of increases).
Higher Emergency Medicine	To increase by 4 higher posts for 2023, 4 posts for 2024 and 2 posts for 2025. The increases for 2024 and 2025 are required to ensure the pipeline via ACCS EM established in previous workforce plans is aligned to the higher programme.
ACCS Emergency Medicine	To increase by 4 posts for 2023 (2 in North Wales and 2 in South Wales) and by 2 posts for 2024 (South Wales).
Geriatric Medicine	To increase by 5 posts each year for 3 years commencing in 2023. These recommendations will be reviewed on an annual basis and increased if high recruitment levels into the programme are sustained.
Internal Medicine	To increase by 12 posts for 2023 to maintain the pipeline created following expansion in 2021 and 2022.
Foundation	To increase the number of Foundation Year 1 posts by 39 and Foundation Year 2 posts by 30 for August 2023 as detailed in the Foundation Expansion Business Case.
Cancer Care
Clinical Oncology	Increase by 4 additional Higher Training posts implementing year 3 of the proposal to expand by 4 posts per year for 5 years.
Medical Oncology	Increase by 3 additional Higher Training posts implementing year 3 of the proposal to expand by 3 posts per year for 5 years.
Palliative Medicine	To increase Palliative Medicine training by a further 2 posts for August 2023 as recommended in the 22/23 plan.
Planned Care
General Surgery	Increase by 7 higher posts for 2023.
Trauma & Orthopaedics	To increase by 5 posts in 2023 and then by a further 5 in 2024 and in 2025 (to be reviewed and dependent upon training capacity).
Higher Anaesthetics	Increase of 6 Higher Anaesthetics posts.
Dermatology	To increase by 3 posts in 2023 and by 3 posts in 2024.
Rheumatology	To increase by 2 posts for 2023 as recommended in the 22/23 plan.
Neurology	To increase by 3 posts for 2023.
Diabetes & Endocrinology	To increase by 1 post in 2023 and a further post in 2024.
Diagnostic specialties & Health promotion/prevention
Medical Microbiology/ Infectious Diseases	Increase of 3 Medical Microbiology/Infectious Diseases posts implementing year 4 of a plan to increase posts every year for 5 years.
Clinical Radiology	To support the recommended expansion as required to appoint 20 trainees for the 2023 intake into the South Wales programme.
Clinical Neurophysiology	To increase by 1 post in 2023 and then by a further post in 2024.
Public Health Medicine	To increase by 3 posts as recommended in the 22/23 plan.
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT)	To increase by 1 post in 2023.
Mental Health
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	No increase to the higher programme for 2023 but to monitor demand and act accordingly. To pilot 2 new innovative ST1 run through posts for 2023.
Old age psychiatry	To increase by 2 posts for 2023 and a further 2 for 2024 as recommended in the 22/23 plan.
General Adult Psychiatry	To increase by 2 posts in North Wales in 2023. Increases will be recommended for South Wales in the 24/25 plan if current vacancies are filled.
Forensic Psychiatry	To increase by 1 post for 2023 to enable the creation of a North Wales programme.
Core psychiatry	To increase by 8 posts in 2023 and a further 8 posts in 2024 to maintain the pipeline created through the initial expansion in the 22/23 plan.

09/02/2023

PRESS RELEASE : Extra training places for nurses and paramedics in Wales thanks to 8% increase in training budget [January 2023]
The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 18 January 2023.

Almost 400 more nurse training places will be created in Wales thanks to an 8% increase in the NHS Wales training budget, Health Minister Eluned Morgan today announced.

The Welsh Government has approved Health Education and Improvement Wales’ (HEIW)’s ambitious Education and Training Plan 2023-24 for NHS Wales, backed by a record £281m investment package.

This is the ninth consecutive year that health professional education and training budgets will have increased in Wales.

The plan will support 527 extra training places for a wide range of NHS professionals, from scientists and pharmacists to occupational therapists and physiotherapists, as well as nurses.

The increase in training places include the following professions (full list below):
- Adult nurse training places increase from 1,651 to 1,892 – a 14.6% increase.
- Child nurse training places increase from 175 to 192 – a 9.7% increase.
- Mental health nurses training places increase from 410 to 530 – a 29% increase.
- Midwives training places increase from 185 to 190 – up 2.7%.
- Physiotherapist training places increase from 174 to 180 – up 3.4%.
- Occupational therapist training places increase from 179 to 197 – up 10%.
- Paramedics training places increase from 116 to 120 – a 3.4% increase.
- Pharmacy technician training places increase from 30 to 50 – up 66.7%.
Health Minister Eluned Morgan said:

Despite the inflationary pressures on our budget we are committed to investing in the NHS workforce in Wales.

I am delighted to increase training places once again for nurses and the many other health professions, which are the backbone of our health service.

A well-trained NHS workforce with the right skills is essential to providing a sustainable high-quality care to people across Wales and improving standards in our health service.

These additional training places will deliver a workforce which can respond to the challenges of the future.

The Welsh NHS currently has more people working in it than at any time in its history, focusing on prevention and care across every community.

Lisa Llewelyn, Director of Nurse and Health Professional Education at HEIW, said:

This plan has been developed in collaboration with key stakeholders from the NHS in Wales and will support current and future workforce numbers.

Building on growth from previous years, the additional education and training places will mean increased numbers of a range of qualified healthcare professionals being available to deliver quality care to our population and work in Wales in a range of roles and locations.
09/02/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Survivors of ‘conversion therapy’ among expert group helping advise Welsh Government on actions to ban “abhorrent” practice in Wales [February 2023]

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 17 January 2023.

The Deputy Minister for Social Partnership, Hannah Blythyn, has today announced a group of experts will work together to advise Welsh Government on actions to ban conversion practices in Wales for all LGBTQ+ people.

It fulfils a commitment from the Minister to form a working group which brings together representatives from faith communities; the health and social care sector; and children and young people’s representatives, alongside LGBTQ+ people to advise on key elements of the work.

Members include Jayne Ozanne, who underwent nearly 20 years of conversion practices, which resulted in her being hospitalised twice.

Now she works to ensure full inclusion of all LGBTQ+ people, particularly LGBTQ+ people of faith, and is the Founder and Chair of the UK’s Ban Conversion Therapy Coalition which is campaigning for a full ban on the practice.

On being invited to join the working group, Jayne said:

We know this happens in many churches and religious groups across the world. Wales is no exception.

It is abhorrent, harmful and abusive, Sadly, it is a trauma that stays with you for life as it gets at the absolute core of who you are and how you love.

Including trans and non-binary people in a ban is critical as the level of physical abuse and verbal abuse against the trans and non-binary community is so severe. It is particularly crucial we work to protect young people from across the LGBTQ+ community because the mental outcomes are so horrific.

If you’re traumatised at a relatively young age over something as fundamental as your core identity, then that can go on to impact your education prospects, your career prospects, your sense of confidence and your ability to love and be loved, which means lifelong affirming relationships are often badly compromised.

With a firm ambition to make Wales the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe the Welsh Government and NHS Wales signed up to a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ with the Coalition Against Conversion Therapy in 2022.

Organisations who sign the Memorandum and work in the provision of mental or psychological health delivery or commissioning, such as the NHS, will commit to ensure they do not commission or provide conversion therapy in Wales.

Another member of the new expert group is Ian Green who has more than 25 years’ experience of high-profile leadership roles. The current Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust said:

As someone who as a young man experienced LGBT conversion therapy, I know how important it is that this abhorrent practice is banned. Being lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans is not something that needs to be changed or cured.

I’m looking forward to being part of the Welsh Government’s working group on conversion practices and playing an active role in helping to see a ban implemented in Wales.

The Welsh Government has commissioned legal advice to establish exactly what powers already exist in Wales in order to seek the devolution of any additional powers needed to ban conversion therapy in its entirety.

Deputy Minister for Social Partnership, Hannah Blythyn said:

Recent Census data revealed there are LGBTQ+ people living and participating in every part of Wales, which further emphasises our commitment to ensure every corner of our country is a safe place to live openly and authentically.

Conversion practices are abhorrent, and we are committed to banning it to help protect everyone in our LGBTQ+ communities.

Members of our working group bring a wealth of experience, and, in some cases, first-hand experience of the sheer upset and utter harm conversion practices can cause. The combined knowledge of the members will be invaluable as we work to ban this frankly evil practice.

09/02/2023