The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
WQ.297/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BY DEPUTY L.M.C. DOUBLET OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 8th SEPTEMBER 2020
Question
Further to the response to Oral Question 53/2020, in which it was stated that the next Disability Strategy Annual Progress Report would be published in May 2020, will the Minister advise whether the Progress Report has indeed been completed and, if so, where it may be found; and if the latest Progress Report has not yet been completed, will the Minster state when it will be published and what the estimated impact on people with disabilities is of the delay in this work?
Answer
When Oral Question 53/2020 was posed on the 25th February 2020 it was the intention to publish the Disability Strategy Annual Progress Report in May of this year.
In light of subsequent events, Government focus has necessarily remained on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including additional support for disabled and other higher risk Islanders. Redeployment of key officers and public health restrictions that prevented the meeting of the implementation group, resulted in a delay on the delivery of the Disability Strategy and the production of the annual report.
Despite these challenges, progress has been made with the recruitment to the Disability Inclusion Officer Post and that the Learning Disability Cluster continues to meet virtually.
In addition, the Disability Strategy Implementation Group will meet later this month to understand the impact COVID 19 has had on disabled Islanders and the strategy.
The Disability Strategy Annual Progress Report will now be published by the end of this calendar year, subject to change should we need to move back through our Safe Exit Framework during the autumn and winter months.
While the delay has been unavoidable we now need to redouble our efforts to implement the strategy while considering the impact of COVID 19 on the whole community.
In terms of the impact, the delay caused by the pandemic has slowed the planned implementation of the strategy but it has also seen closer working between Government of Jersey Departments, Parishes and the Voluntary and Community Sector to support all vulnerable people during the pandemic.