DISABLED people feel “forgotten and left behind” due to severe delays to reforms aimed at advancing their rights in Wales, the UK’s equality watchdog warned.

Ruth Coombs, head of Wales at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), gave evidence to a Senedd inquiry about disability and employment on Monday October 7.

She said: “By not giving disabled people access to employment, as a nation, we’re really missing out – on productivity, economic engagement and Wales moving forward.”

Ms Coombs warned of a policy implementation gap in response to the recommendations of the Locked out report about the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on disabled people.

She told the Senedd’s equality committee: “We’ve got some great ideas about what we should be doing, but there have been severe delays.”

She said the Welsh Government’s disability action plan has been delayed by 12 to 18 months, as she called for greater impetus, with disabled people feeling “forgotten and left behind”.

Ms Coombs told the inquiry that disability rights have taken a “bit of a backseat” because of a lack of resources from the Welsh Government to maintain focus.

She warned of “uneven” access to employment and educational opportunities across Wales.

The former headteacher raised the role of Medr – which replaced Hefcw in August and oversees all post-16 education – in encouraging disabled people into apprenticeships.

She said very few disabled learners start apprenticeships and even fewer complete them.

Official figures for 2022 showed the disability employment gap – the difference in employment rates between disabled and non-disabled people – in Wales was 32.3%.

This was higher than Scotland, 31.6%, and the UK average, 29.8%.

Martyn Jones, interim chair of the EHRC’s Wales committee, shared campaigners’ concerns that disability does not have the same status as other protected characteristics.

“We don’t see the same focus and drive,” he warned, drawing a parallel with Welsh Government action on domestic abuse and racism in recent years.

Mr Jones described disability as, unfortunately, the “poor relation” of the equalities world, urging ministers to enshrine the UN convention on disabled people’s rights into Welsh law.

He encouraged public bodies to be more proactive, praising the example of the GCHQ intelligence and security agency actively recruiting autistic people for their skills.

Ms Coombs raised concerns about nervousness and a lack of confidence among employers on recruiting disabled people as she pointed to EHRC guidance published in September.

Fflur Elin, head of public affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses Wales (FSB), told the committee about 25% of small business owners are disabled or have a health condition.

She said disabled people and businesses often do not know where to access support as she raised the recommendations of the FSB’s 2020 report, Business without barriers.

She called for devolution of the shared prosperity fund, which replaced EU structural funds, saying this would give Wales the “fiscal firepower” to strengthen business support.

Asked about businesses’ awareness of their duties under the 2010 Equality Act, Ms Elin echoed the EHRC’s comments on a “nervousness in saying or doing the wrong thing”.

On the UK Government’s Access to Work scheme, which provides grants for adjustments, she warned that a 26-week wait for a decision acts as a major barrier.

ALL local authorities in Wales should standardise payments for care home places, according to Care Forum Wales, the organisation representing the sector. The current system, where fees are set by individual councils, has led to stark discrepancies across the country, creating what the forum describes as a “postcode lottery”.

A significant variation in weekly charges for basic care has emerged between neighbouring counties, with some care home owners warning that the situation could force more closures. In two adjacent counties, the fees can differ by as much as £70 per week.

The Welsh government has acknowledged the issue, stating that its new National Office for Care and Support is considering measures “to bring about consistency”. However, it has also indicated that fee rates will continue to differ due to “local factors like land values for care homes”.

The Welsh Conservatives criticised the current approach as a “false economy”, arguing that social care and health services should not be competing for resources. Plaid Cymru echoed the need for change, calling for a “transformational change” in the health service.

Orme View care home in Llandudno, Conwy county, has seen its fees rise this year, following a decision by Conwy council to break away from the system where all councils in north Wales set their fees collectively. Instead, the council has adopted a new fee structure based on recommendations from an independent assessor, resulting in significantly higher payments.

Steffan Robbins of Orme View welcomed the change, calling it “an amazing, positive step forward.” Speaking to Politics Wales, he said, “Conwy have taken that step to really assess the true cost of care and make sure they deliver a fee that’s affordable to them, but also a fee that reflects the true costs that we’re seeing in the sector.”

In contrast, the Old Vicarage care home in Llangollen, Denbighshire, is receiving thousands of pounds less per resident each year compared to Orme View because it relies on the fees set by Denbighshire council. Although there has been an increase in fees this year, it remains substantially lower than the rates in neighbouring Conwy.

Currently, the fees for basic care in Conwy are £846 per week, while in Denbighshire they are £774. The disparity means that some care homes, like the Old Vicarage, are forced to charge residents additional top-up fees to stay afloat.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Bethan Mascarenhas, who runs the Old Vicarage. “As somebody who’s very invested in the work that they do, we really strive to give the absolute best level of care… Unfortunately, the divide between the fees will make that difference in what you can provide.”

A call for change

Care Forum Wales, the umbrella organisation for Welsh care homes, has warned that the current system is undermining facilities in areas where the fees do not reflect the actual costs. Chairman Mario Kreft emphasised the need for uniformity, stating, “The new National Office for Care and Support needs to ensure we have parity across Wales, that there is at least an understood basic level of funding across all local authorities and health boards. We’ve got to move away from a postcode lottery.”

Denbighshire council responded by asserting that it is striving to balance financial constraints while ensuring the sustainability of the care sector in the county. “We have worked hard to strike the delicate balance between navigating challenging financial constraints and ensuring that we are maintaining a sustainable future for the care sector in the county,” a spokesperson said. The council also noted that it has not seen evidence to suggest that differing fee rates are affecting the solvency of care homes in Denbighshire.

Speaking to BBC Politics Wales, Welsh Conservative MS Sam Rowlands urged the Welsh government to ensure that local authorities receive adequate funding to properly compensate care homes. “It’s kind of a false economy pitching social care against health services, because we know that there are hundreds and hundreds of beds in our hospitals at the moment which are blocked because people cannot access the care services that they need,” he said.

Plaid Cymru MS Mabon ap Gwynfor also called for a significant shift in the approach to care services. “We need to see a transformational change within the care service,” he said. “We need to see the Welsh government actually put this first and foremost as a priority… and to deliver that national care service so that care is free for individuals, that people working in the sector are paid properly, so that we know that our loved ones get that care.”

The National Office for Care and Support is currently exploring the possibility of introducing national fee methodologies to standardise care home fees. However, it has indicated that this does not necessarily mean a single national fee rate, as fees will still vary according to local factors such as land values for care homes.

The debate continues as stakeholders await the government’s next steps in addressing the inequalities in care home funding across Wales.

SENEDD Member Paul Davies has called for urgent action over statistics which show that 63.3% of patient pathways assessed as being at highest risk of irreversible harm are waiting beyond their target date for treatment in the Hywel Dada University Health Board area. The latest figures from the Welsh Government show that 11,295 patients in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area are at the highest risk of irreversible harm because of waiting beyond their target date for treatment.

Mr Davies said, “These statistics are extremely alarming and behind them are thousands of people living in west Wales at risk of irreversible sight loss because they are waiting too long for their appointments. Not only are many of these patients in pain and discomfort, but some have also lost jobs because of their deteriorating eyesight.  

“We need action as a matter of urgency and I urge the Welsh Government to endorse the National Clinical Strategy for Ophthalmology and prioritise its implementation. Eye care services are still under huge pressures, its infrastructure requires significant investment and there are serious recruitment and retention issues. Therefore, it’s vital that this is prioritised immediately – as each month that passes without a commitment to improve eye care will result in more and more people being added to waiting lists.”