Clause 4
Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Bill [Lords]
12:45 pm
Mark Williams (Shadow Minister, Education & Skills; Ceredigion, Liberal Democrat)
We discussed the issues at length earlier and I do not want to detain the Committee longer than necessary. We are revisiting the subject of non-devolved matters and the commissioner’s capacity to consider those. Under the clause, the Assembly could amend schedule 2 by adding to the relevant list. I want to reiterate what I said about the reality on the ground. Research by my colleagues who spoke on the matter in another place revealed that 80 per cent. of complaints received by Citizens Advice, to cite one of the relevant organisations, related to pensions and benefits. I fully anticipate what the Minister will say, but there is one other issue that I want to touch on.
I am interested in what the Minister said about the roles involved, and he has made things very clear. However, how does he envisage the work of the commissioner being promoted to the general public, given the limitations of the commissioner’s role as we see it? How will those limitations be conveyed practically to the public, to avoid disappointment for a good many constituents wanting redress on various matters? That is a huge publicity task for the Minister and the commissioner.