Shadow Welsh Conservative Minister for Communities and Local Government, Mark Isherwood AM, who also Chairs the Assembly Cross Groups on Autism and on Disability, is calling on the Welsh Government to review the Health Protection Regulations (Wales) 2020 which have imposed the restrictions on our lives due to Covid19.
However, many families who have people with learning difficulties or Autism have raised the impact on their lives due to the “distinctive approach to dealing with coronavirus in Wales” as outlined by the Welsh Government.
Unlike in England, the regulations in Wales restrict these families to taking “exercise, no more than once a day, either alone or with other members of the household”.
Commenting on the situation Mark Isherwood AM said:
“Many families across the country are struggling with their children who are keen to get outside to play having been locked up inside and who are desperately missing their friends.
“However, this is amplified for parents and carers of young people with learning disabilities or Autism. In England people with specific medical needs, including individuals with learning disabilities or Autism who require specific exercise, may leave their homes to exercise in an open space two or three times each day. Whilst here in Wales the Welsh Government’s desire for a distinctive Welsh approach is having a devastating impact on families which include people with a learning disability or Autism.
“I would urge the Welsh Government to review this urgently to allow those with specific medical needs to exercise more and to advertise the change widely to groups involved with those people impacted.”
