Peredur Owen Griffiths: How is the Government easing the cost-of-living crisis for people in South Wales East?
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you, Llywydd, and apologies for not being ready there.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: I'm pleased to speak in the debate. The committee considered these regulations at our meeting last Thursday after the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee had laid its report. We have no further reporting points to make other than those already covered by that committee and therefore consider it appropriate and proportionate on this occasion not to produce our own separate...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. The UK Government's decision to veto the passage of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill marks a new low in relations between Westminster and the devolved administrations. Over the past 13 years, this Tory Government has frequently demonstrated its thinly veiled disregard for devolution. Instead of working constructively with its devolved partners, it has resorted to...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you for that response.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Although the powers to legislate on gender recognition are not yet available to this Senedd, the First Minister has expressed a desire to introduce similar legislation to the GRR Bill here in Wales. He recently said in this Chamber, 'we will seek the powers. If we obtain those powers, we will put them to work here in Wales, and we will put proposals in front of this Welsh Parliament'....
Peredur Owen Griffiths: The Senedd has already heard from Jack about how unfair forcible installation of prepayment meters are; I endorse his points wholeheartedly. Prepayment meters are disproportionately prevalent in the social housing sector, which means that tenants on some of the lowest income bands in the country are having to pay the highest energy tariffs. It's incredibly perverse that those with the least...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. The cost-of-living crisis is having a significant impact on our health service. From increasing health inequalities to preventing people from being warm and fed this winter, the NHS is showing signs of extreme strain and crisis. The strain is also evident in those who work in public health. The nurses' strike, backed by Plaid Cymru, has been well-documented in this Senedd....
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you. We're still waiting for the Minister's workforce plan, which was promised for this month; given that there are a few hours left in the day, we remain in hope that it will come in time. Oh, there are thumbs up there, so that's good. Can you confirm that you and your officials were heavily involved in devising this plan? This is a key question, because mental health support has often...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: I welcome the interim report and echo some, not all, of the comments that we've heard in this Chamber this afternoon. I'd like to concentrate my contribution on a small aspect of what you've said this afternoon, Minister. Can we ban the use of the words 'progressive' and 'radical' when referring to the Gordon Brown proposals? They are anything but radical or progressive. Giving us control of...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: 8. How is the Government planning to help the most vulnerable households in South Wales East with the cost-of-living crisis? OQ59106
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Diolch yn fawr and I welcome that answer. I recently met with the enforcement conduct board and we discussed the unfair charges that are applied to many people struggling to pay off a debt. I was given an example of a woman who lives in social housing in Newport and receives universal credit and personal independence payments. She was subject to a High Court enforcement case on behalf of a...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. It's a pleasure to contribute to this important debate on the Welsh Government’s draft budget for 2023-24. Before I turn to specific areas within the report, I would like to say that the committee fully recognises the difficulties faced by the Welsh Government in preparing its budgetary proposals. Inflationary pressures, rising energy costs and an increase in the...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: First of all, the committee felt that there was a lack of clarity and candour regarding the Welsh Government's plans, particularly in terms of identifying where decisions have been made in the draft budget to halt, postpone or reduce funding. As a result, we have made a raft of recommendations calling for greater clarity in the information provided alongside the draft budget. This includes...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Lastly, I would like to make a point about the time given to scrutinise the draft budget. Although we accept that the Welsh Government has no control over the timing of UK Government fiscal events, we are concerned that the timetable for scrutiny of this draft budget was truncated for the fourth consecutive year. This is not fair on Members of the Senedd, stakeholders, or the public at large,...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you, Llywydd, and I'm pleased to contribute to this debate as Chair of the Finance Committee, and I'm delighted to thank the Minister for giving evidence and the clerking team and Members for their work. I'm sure that the Minister is pleased that we didn't make as many recommendations as some other committees; we made 10 recommendations in total. So, I thank the Minister for providing a...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: In particular, we have a significant concern regarding the lack of available financial information relating to the future sustainable land management scheme that will be introduced by this Bill, which is not yet finalised. This is the most significant cost arising from the Bill and assumes that Welsh Government's annual payments to farmers will be £278 million, under the future SLM scheme....
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Llywydd, I am conscious of time, but I would like to raise an important issue relating to the consideration of financial resolution motions. Whilst acknowledging that the Minister has responded prior to today’s debate, this is not standard practice. Usually, responses are issued after the Stage 1 debate, with the financial resolution considered immediately after the Stage 1 motion has been...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Austerity has delivered a devastating impact on policing in the UK. The brutal cuts to public spending, masked by the term 'austerity', may have been the brainchild of the Tory party, but they are also a stain on other Westminster parties, as it was backed by the Liberal Democrats in coalition Government, and subscribed to by the Labour Party in opposition. The initial wave of Tory-driven...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: I've only just started.
