Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. My understanding is English trusts do not treat Welsh residents differently, in the way that you've suggested, and I think the best way forward, the best course of action, probably would be to ask the Minister for Health and Social Services to get her officials to monitor that. Certainly, her officials would monitor any commissioning arrangements that they had with English...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Well, of course, the Deputy Minister is aware of the report you refer to and has called on the WRU to publish it, I don't think on one occasion, but on many occasions, and continues to do that. As you heard the First Minister say, the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport did meet with the WRU ahead of the airing of that programme last night. She continues to engage with them on...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. The Minister for Social Justice has always been very clear about her commitment to end violence against women and girls. It's a societal problem and it obviously requires a societal response. The Minister is absolutely adamant we've got to change attitudes shaped by long-standing structural misogyny and making lasting changes in order to tackle violent, abusive and controlling...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. It was certainly very disappointing that, for the second time, the levelling-up bid by, as you mentioned, a group of partners in the Wrexham Gateway partnership was rejected by the UK Government. I, obviously, declare an interest as the constituency Member, and it certainly went down very badly with Wrexham's residents, because the gateway partnership, and the project, is such an...
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. Thank you all for that moment of reflection in memory of Clare Drakeford and in recognition of her life. I know the thoughts of everyone in the Senedd, and across Wales, are with our First Minister and his family at this very sad time, which I know he will greatly appreciate.
Lesley Griffiths: Only united action from all sections of society can end abuse and ensure that everyone in Wales can truly live fear free. Our national VAWDASV strategy sets out our aims, and the Minister for Social Justice will continue to work closely with all Cabinet colleagues to ensure it is delivered.
Lesley Griffiths: Well, as Buffy Williams has outlined, in Wales, we know that too many people still experience domestic abuse and sexual violence, and our strategy absolutely puts prevention at its core, shifting the focus from symptom to cause through a public health approach. Buffy Williams referred to our groundbreaking Act back in 2015, and that created duties on local authorities and health boards in...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Well, I think we have to recognise the very difficult position that our local authorities are in, in trying to save money, even with the budgets that we've been able to give them from Welsh Government. But, as you say, the Minister for Social Justice did make a statement, following a request—I think it was from Delyth Jewell—in the business statement, because the Minister for...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. And thank you to Joyce Watson for bringing the workplace sexual harassment toolkit to our attention today. I think it will be an extremely useful tool, once it has been launched, and it has been developed jointly with Welsh Women's Aid and Wales TUC. And it's very much in alignment with our aim to, obviously, ensure that workplaces are safe for employees, but also to ensure that...
Lesley Griffiths: Our economic mission sets out Welsh Government's economic priorities. We are strengthening the sectors across the Welsh economy by focusing on support for firms to innovate and diversify, speeding up business decarbonisation, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, and I'm very sorry to hear about the businesses and organisations in your constituency that have had to unfortunately close. As you know, here in Wales, we have Business Wales, and that's just about to celebrate its tenth anniversary, and they've provided a single integrated service to support businesses through these very difficult and uncertain economic times. That includes...
Lesley Griffiths: I disagree with the Member profoundly that Wales isn't an attractive place to do business and to bring new businesses. I think you just need to look at our track record and also the work the Development Bank of Wales has done. I mentioned the business productivity enhancement programme that's recently been rolled out that's attracting new businesses. Again, the number of jobs that have been...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Well, as is the case in England, the Minister works very closely with developers, for instance, and I know, around the developers' pact, the Minister's been doing that. She's also kept Members updated, so I appreciate that you will already have that information as well. The Minister is obviously working closely with the UK Government to see what aspects of the legislation we can...
Lesley Griffiths: So, in relation to the first part of your question around remediation, I know the Minister has been working very hard to make sure that there is a programme of work that can be outlined, so that people do get that confidence, because I can imagine nothing worse than owning a home and knowing of the potential disaster that could befall it. And I know the Minister also is working very closely,...
Lesley Griffiths: Well, of course, we are very sorry that anybody finds themselves living with those concerns. But, as I say, it was really important that we took a step back and looked at what work could be done, and, as I say, the Minister does have a programme of work to assist with these people.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. As you know, the Minister for Health and Social Services continues to engage with trade unions. I know that her officials have met with the trade unions today and I think they're planning to meet again next week. We want to keep our door open; we want to continue to have discussions to, obviously, support our NHS staff. As you said, the Minister now is looking to the next year,...
Lesley Griffiths: Well, unfortunately, even just a 1 per cent increase would only bring forward—I think it was about £55 million, which, clearly, is nowhere near enough money for what we need. What we need is an increase in our budget. You will know all of the difficulties—from being in the co-operation agreement, you will know all of the facts and figures around our budget. We know that we need further...
Lesley Griffiths: Well, the figures I have in front of me around NHS workforce statistics—and this is directly employed staff—is that the workforce is now at record levels. We've got over 105,000 people, 90,943 full-time equivalents, being directly employed by our NHS Wales organisations. All the staff—you go through nurses, you go through medical and dental staff, consultants, registered nurses,...
Lesley Griffiths: Working in partnership with counter-terrorism policing, we have produced videos and resources on preventing radicalisation and extremism, delivered in schools by our SchoolBeat officers. Our Prevent board brings partners together to oversee activities in Wales designed to protect those who are most vulnerable to radicalisation.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, and I certainly would agree with the Member that it is very concerning, and the sentencing of the young person from Cardiff that you referred to—it was a range of offences, including offences under terror legislation. What that does is really serve us all as a reminder that extremism is a very, very real issue right across the UK. Obviously, our education sector plays a hugely...
