What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure there is an up-to-date central list of vulnerable individuals that all public services can access during a crisis, in light of recent flooding acutely impacting older people and people with disabilities?
The safety of our communities is our highest priority, and it is vital the systems and process we have in place are able to support those most in need.
Our focus has been, and will continue to be, on supporting the most vulnerable in our society who will feel the impacts of emergencies most profoundly. Work is underway to improve access to reliable data for civil emergencies. This includes improving how data is collected, analysed and shared in response to emergencies.
The Welsh Government has already funded the development and establishment of a cutting-edge data application, “JIGSO”, to provide information to emergency responders on the ground. The application, which is part of DataMapWales, provides mapping to help identify addresses of those who have joined a priority services register, which will include vulnerable individuals. This new system is helping responders to take action where it matters most.
We recognise we need to go further, and we are putting in place new specialist capability to provide support to emergency responders with higher quality and more accurate information and to ensure responders share relevant information to support vulnerable people during emergencies. We are also working with the UK Government to ensure our approach is joined-up and to take advantage of the UK data systems that can support our objectives.