John Griffiths: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I am very pleased today to have the time during refugee week to debate our committee’s report on refugees and asylum seekers in Wales. The context for the inquiry is the tragedy of war, instability, and displacement. The latest UN study, published on Monday, found that 65.6 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2016. On average, 20 people...
John Griffiths: On the specific needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, the committee was convinced by the evidence we heard that we need more proactive support, and that’s why we called for a guardianship service. We also wanted to ensure there is capacity and capability across Wales to undertake age assessments, and we received powerful evidence of the need to set minimum standards for mental...
John Griffiths: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. I will not be able to deal with all points, as only a limited amount of time is available to me, but can I begin by very much welcoming the wide-ranging and passionate debate we have heard this afternoon? I do believe it’s reflective of the importance of these issues, and also reflective of the commitment that committee members and clerks, and those who gave...
John Griffiths: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on progress with local government reform in Wales? OAQ(5)0698(FM)
John Griffiths: First Minister, local authorities deliver key services to our communities, so it’s vitally important that we have a thriving local democracy. A fundamental requirement of that is local authorities that reflect their local populations, but the most recent local elections delivered something like 28 per cent of our councillors across Wales in terms of women councillors, with individual local...
John Griffiths: As you say, Cabinet Secretary, I think it is important to have clarity in terms of exactly what is being tested, so if just the 4mm or so of external cladding is being sent for testing, then it obviously doesn’t include the wider building external wall system. So, I hear what you say in terms of perhaps moving on to that wider, more comprehensive and significant testing. So, I wonder if you...
John Griffiths: 5. What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the development of community-focused schools in Wales? OAQ(5)0151(EDU)
John Griffiths: Cabinet Secretary, children spend relatively little time in school compared to time out of school, so it’s obviously very, very important that the home and, indeed, the community in which they live contribute to and encourage their education. Community-focused schools are a great way of building that partnership between the school, the family and the wider community. The facilities, sadly,...
John Griffiths: Diolch yn fawr, Cadeirydd. I’m very pleased to be able to contribute to today’s debate as Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, and I’d like to thank all those who provided evidence to us to help inform our work—in particular, tenants across Wales who took time out to attend our focus group events. I would like to thank the committee for their work on the...
John Griffiths: Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's strategy for economic development in Newport East?
John Griffiths: Cabinet Secretary, I’m sure you’d agree with me that the recent announcement by CAF of the 200 to 300 jobs in Newport—quality jobs building the trains of the future to help take that integrated transport system forward—is very valuable, and I’d be very interested to know how we can capitalise on that investment by attracting further investment and, indeed, making sure that local...
John Griffiths: How will the Welsh Government prepare for the opportunities arising from the abolition of tolls on the Severn crossings?
John Griffiths: Minister, I’m very pleased about the direction of travel and your statement today. In Newport, as I know you’re aware, we’ve been working towards bringing leisure, sports, health, local authorities, the voluntary sector, professional sports clubs and grass-roots sports together, with a series of meetings to try to get a more active local population and to try to address that wider...
John Griffiths: First Minister, I went on the breakfast run with the Wallich the week before last, and it was very impressive to see the support and services they offer—hot food, hot drinks, clothing, advice about accommodation, GP appointments; there is a whole range of very important support measures and advice offered by the Wallich. We also heard first-hand from rough sleepers just what they thought...
John Griffiths: Llywydd, I represent Newport East, which is ethnically diverse. I was born and brought up in Pill in Newport, which is ethnically diverse, much more so now than in my youth. The EU enlargement, for example, has added considerable pace to that. There have always been tensions, I think, in such areas, along racial lines, but it certainly has got worse, in my experience, in recent times, partly...
John Griffiths: Cabinet Secretary, in order to effectively rehabilitate those leaving prison it’s very important that they have a roof over their heads. The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 meant that prison leavers were no longer automatically categorised as being in priority need for housing. There was a 2017 post-implementation evaluation of that legislation, which stated that amongst those groups not having...
John Griffiths: What further steps will the Cabinet Secretary take to improve air quality in Wales?
John Griffiths: I very much support the Bill because of the, I think, considerable range of harms that alcohol abuse and problem drinking are responsible for in Wales: health; working days lost, so the economic impact; and, indeed, the sort of society we are and the cultural aspects of that. I very much take on board what the Minister has just said that it is a health inequality issue as well. We know that...
John Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. I’m pleased to open today’s debate, and I’d firstly like to thank all those who provided written and oral evidence to this inquiry, as well as the staff and service users that we met on our visits, and place on record our acknowledgment of the significant and important work that has been delivered by Communities First projects and staff across Wales over the last 16...
John Griffiths: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Could I first thank Members very much for their level of interest and, indeed, their level of passion for these issues, including Assembly Members who are not members of the committee? I think their contributions were very valuable, actually, in providing balance in terms of experience of Communities First. It was very good to hear, for example, from Hefin David, Dawn...
