John Griffiths: I'm very pleased to take part in this important debate today. I think all Members are very conscious of the value of palliative care and end-of-life services in their own areas, and that certainly is the case with me. I'm very familiar with St David's Hospice Care; we're fortunate in Newport and around to have a really top-quality end-of-life and palliative care service through St David's...
John Griffiths: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I hear what the Minister has said about the difficulties in timing, Llywydd, and these have plagued this particular Bill, I'm afraid. We were once again as a committee unable to give this latest LCM the sort of consideration we would have liked, and we do not believe we've really been able to sufficiently understand the impact of the provisions on the lives of people...
John Griffiths: I very much welcome the new funding and focus on community-focused schools, Minister, which I know we've discussed before. I have some good examples, I think, in my area, including Maindee Primary School, which is multicultural and is doing some really good work, and tells me that they have to invest heavily in staff to support parents and families with wider issues, such as food, housing,...
John Griffiths: Minister, as you say, community groups are doing some very good work in greening our local communities, and this is vital, isn’t it, in meeting the challenges of climate change, in connecting people more with nature, and gaining popular support for the transition that we need if we are really going to meet the environmental challenges of the future? One example of that, I think, is in the...
John Griffiths: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, I wonder if you could address a situation that occurred in my constituency in Caldicot, where, in October last year, an NHS dentist wrote out to their 10,000 NHS patients telling them they were reducing the number to 2,500 effective from 1 January this year, and all of those 10,000 would have to reapply for an NHS place if they wanted one. So, that led to a...
John Griffiths: Thank you for that answer, Minister. Recently, I visited a local industrial firm, a family industrial firm, in Newport, GD Environmental. They are diversifying at the moment, and we visited their film studio, in Nash in Newport, where Urban Myth film the Sex Education series. It's all going very well, and the relationship with Creative Wales has been very useful, Minister, which I'm sure...
John Griffiths: 1. How is the Minister working with the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport and Chief Whip to promote the growing tv and film industry in Wales? OQ59221
John Griffiths: Llywydd, as someone committed to devolution and to Newport, it is very pleasing to reflect on the progress we have made. We now have a Parliament for Wales—something generations have campaigned for and worked to achieve. Newport and Wales have a stronger Welsh identity reinforced by the new democratic settlement. It is important for people to have a clear sense of their place in the world,...
John Griffiths: Deputy Minister, I want to finish by talking about my constituent and my friend, Olwen, who was formerly a Welsh teacher here in the Senedd. She was nine years old when she moved to Newport from Cardiff, where she was fortunate to go to a Welsh primary school. When they moved to Newport, there was very little Welsh in the town, as it was then, and certainly nothing in the schools. In the...
John Griffiths: Deputy Minister, I also want to talk about the 2021 census data and put on record some of the findings that were recorded for us locally. Ringland, an area of Newport East heavily influenced by the nearby Llanwern steelworks since the 1960s, has 56.3 per cent of people identifying as Welsh only, but in terms of Welsh language skills, over 90 per cent of people there said they had no Welsh...
John Griffiths: I want to use today’s debate to explore Welsh identity in the city a bit further, to explain where I think it is at present but also how I think it can grow, especially amongst our younger generation, but also in the context of the Welsh Government’s ambitions to have 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050. Back in November and just before the world cup, I was at Rodney Parade for Newport...
John Griffiths: Before the first Act of Union in 1535, which saw Wales annexed to England, Monmouthshire was considered Welsh. After the second Act of Union in 1542, it became complicated. Twelve Welsh counties were registered, but Monmouthshire was made directly responsible to courts of Westminster. The Welsh language was a key argument on the side of those claiming the county was Welsh. The English...
John Griffiths: Thank you, Llywydd. Jayne Bryant and Peredur Owen Griffiths will speak for a minute each. Llywydd, Deputy Minister, I want to start the short debate today by wishing you and everybody here in the Senedd a happy St David's Day. I am proud to have this debate on the day when we celebrate our patron saint. Like many in Newport East and throughout Wales, I will mark the day. I'm very proud to...
John Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm speaking in my capacity as Chair of the committee—the Local Government and Housing Committee, as you said, Llywydd. We've laid two reports on the legislative consent memoranda for the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill. We reported on the initial LCM, supplementary memorandum No. 2 and supplementary memorandum No. 3 in December last year. We reported on supplementary...
John Griffiths: I will be speaking in my capacity as Chair of the Local Government and Housing Committee. I would like to thank the Welsh Local Government Association, the Minister for Finance and Local Government and the Minister for Climate Change for attending the committee's evidence sessions. As a committee, Llywydd, we acknowledged that setting a draft budget in the face of extreme economic pressures...
John Griffiths: Yes. Often, I think, Minister, small and medium enterprises are so busy running their businesses that it's difficult to be aware of the help and support available, and, indeed, to spend the time to access that. But I must say Business Wales were invaluable in Newport East, and my constituency office worked very well with them during the pandemic, when they were able to make sure that a range...
John Griffiths: You mentioned Liberty Steel, Minister, and the mothballing of that plant has understandably created a great deal of concern. You would know, Minister, that that industrial operation is very extensive, and has many opportunities within it, I think. You've got the power station there, the rail links and the rail head, its own dock and the scale of the site; it has great potential, and there's a...
John Griffiths: Thank you for that answer, Minister. Two weeks ago, I met with one of my younger constituents, Elliot, and his mum, Lucy. They are both here in the Senedd today in the public gallery watching proceedings. Elliot is five years old and suffers from a rare condition called Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder characterised by the progressive loss of muscle. As part of his treatment,...
John Griffiths: 5. What is the Welsh Government's strategy to further develop medical specialist services across Wales? OQ59055
John Griffiths: 7. How is the Welsh Government supporting small and medium-sized businesses across Newport East? OQ59054
