Welsh Government adult abuse proposals
Published on 23 October 2012 10:00 AM
Commenting on the announcement that Deputy Minister Gwenda Thomas has proposed that new powers to investigate abuse be included in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill, Graeme Francis, Age Cymru's Head of Policy and Public Affairs says:
"An estimated 39,000 older people in Wales suffer from some sort of abuse and Age Cymru welcomes the Welsh Government's announcement that they intend to legislate to introduce stronger powers to tackle abuse.
"Current adult protection arrangements need to be strengthened and our Rule Out Abuse campaign is calling for a legal duty on organisations to investigate all allegations of abuse that they hear about or are reported to them - in the same way that the law operates to protect children in similar circumstances.
"We handed over 5,000 signatures to our campaign over to the Welsh Government in June and we are pleased that the Welsh Government has listened.
"The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill is an opportunity to make a difference to the lives of older people in Wales and the inclusion of these proposals would clearly reinforce the powers that the authorities have to tackle abuse."