What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that people who are clinically extremely vulnerable, including those with cystic fibrosis, are placed at the heart of the coronavirus recovery plan so that they are supported to return to work safely?
At the start of the pandemic, the Welsh Government provided guidance to employers on how they can operate safely. This ‘Keep Wales Safe at Work’ guidance is still in place now, alongside guidance for employers and employees to help them safely transition back to work. We continue to emphasise that employees can only return to the workplace if it is not reasonably practicable for them to work from home.
Our eight priorities for recovery were set out in Covid-19 Reconstruction: Challenges and Priorities. These include a clear commitment to making sure that disadvantaged groups receive the additional help they need so that they do not lose out economically through the effects of the virus or the economic downturn which is not of their making. We also made very clear our long-term priority is to make Wales a greener, fairer and more prosperous nation, as the First Minister has said, to build back fairer.
Our Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Mission was published on Tuesday 23 February. The vision is a well-being economy which drives prosperity, is environmentally sound, and helps everyone realise their potential. It is rooted in our existing economic action plan, Prosperity for All, with its progressive purposes of reducing inequality and spreading wealth and well-being across all of Wales.
The offer to individuals and employers includes:
· Health-led counselling and therapeutic services for those at risk of unemployment due to musculoskeletal or mental health problems.
· Dedicated support to aid the recruitment and retention of Disabled People.
· Support for Workplace Well-being through expansion of the In Work Support Service.
· Support to employers and employees through the Healthy Working Wales service, which is delivering a one-stop location for Covid-19 related guidance and resources to support safe working environments, bespoke toolkit for employers with regards to mental health and the impacts of Covid-19, with the Time to Change Wales campaign helping people face difficult conversations about mental health and stigma in the workplace.