John Griffiths: Will the Minister set out the ethical basis for the Welsh Government's international relations strategy?
John Griffiths: First Minister, I agree with the decision that you've made, and I've long held that opinion. But I do understand that it was a very difficult decision for you to make, with very strong arguments on both sides of the equation, which I think explains how myself and Jayne, who very much agree on the scale and the gravity of the problems, nonetheless have different views as to the best solution....
John Griffiths: Minister, the problems on the M4 around Newport are urgent and pressing, and obviously they do need short-term, medium-term and long-term responses. Personally, I believe that 'predict and provide' has largely been discredited as a model for dealing with these issues, and that's why I very much welcome the decision that Welsh Government has made, because trying to predict traffic growth and...
John Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. The picture of poverty in Wales is stark. Wales faces the highest relative poverty rate in the United Kingdom, with almost one in four people living in income poverty today. The issue often comes down to social class. Office for National Statistics figures show that if you're a woman living in a working-class city, you're likely to die seven years earlier than if you were...
John Griffiths: Dirprwy Lywydd, many of us have seen the report of Professor Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, that was issued last month. The report found that employment has not proven to be an automatic route out of poverty in Wales and that in-work poverty has grown over the last decade. Twenty-five per cent of jobs paid below the living wage, and low-paid,...
John Griffiths: I will.
John Griffiths: I'm very happy to join Leanne Wood in calling for that change. I think it's a scandalous policy that is almost trying to impose the state's view of how many children working-class families should have. It's truly shocking.
John Griffiths: Dirprwy Lywydd, in effect, women face a double burden of poverty and discrimination, and that needs to be changed and tackled. Food is centre stage in terms of many of these poverty issues today. The surge in the number of people seeking emergency food support in Wales evidences the desperate daily struggle facing many people up and down our country in just having access to basic necessities....
John Griffiths: Despite this alarming picture, Dirprwy Lywydd, the Welsh Government does not currently have an overarching poverty strategy as it did in previous years, and greater leadership is required. The most commonly used measure of poverty is the number or proportion of the population who live in a household whose income is less than 60 per cent of median income, adjusted for their household size and...
John Griffiths: I was very pleased today to sponsor the World Environment Day event here at the Senedd, raising the importance of taking urgent action to address the ecological crisis we face, in order to restore nature in Wales. As we've heard, Welsh nature is in a fragile state. Half of Welsh wildlife is in decline, and hundreds of species are threatened with extinction. To address those biodiversity...
John Griffiths: Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's policy on private schools?
John Griffiths: I very much welcome the statement today. As Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, these matters are central to our work, and, indeed, in our report on human rights in Wales, in the inquiry that we conducted, we made many recommendations that I think are relevant to this statement today. And, of course, in the joint debate with the External Affairs and Additional...
John Griffiths: Would the Member take an intervention?
John Griffiths: Would you agree as well that 20 mph default speed limits in urban areas would be very helpful to achieving that sort of change?
John Griffiths: I'm pleased to say that I think there are many good examples around Wales of schools meeting this challenge, and I wonder if you would join me in recognising the progress of schools like Ringland Primary in my constituency, where they've increased walking, cycling and scooting to school by 20 per cent over the last year, so that now just under half of the pupils travel to school by those means.
John Griffiths: Llywydd, although there are different views as to the best solutions for the problems on the M4 corridor around Newport, I don't think there's anybody that doubts the seriousness and the gravity of those problems and the need to take urgent action in the short term, as well as medium and long-term action, to deal with those problems. And, obviously, the people of Newport are long suffering in...
John Griffiths: As you rightly say in your statement, Minister, obviously road traffic is a very significant aspect of air pollution, and we've already heard reference to the problems on the M4 around Newport. Can I say, Minister, that I very much welcome the decision of the First Minister to go forward with an integrated transport response to those problems? It seems to me that the idea that you can deal...
John Griffiths: 1. What is the impact of the Welsh Government's policy to reduce rough sleeping in Wales? OAQ54119
John Griffiths: First Minister, Wales has suffered UK Government austerity for some nine years now, and its cumulative impact on our communities and the public services we rely on is more and more damaging year on year. Queues at foodbanks and people sleeping rough in tents and doorways show the misery caused. Many of my constituents are shocked and angry that this is the state of the nation when the UK is...
John Griffiths: Llywydd, as we've heard before when we've discussed these matters, I think there is wide agreement on the pressing and urgent nature of the problems on the M4 corridor around Newport, though there are different suggestions as to how they are best addressed, with very strong views on both sides of the equation as to whether the M4 relief road should have been built or not. That is reflected in...
