Peredur Owen Griffiths: I'm delighted to be able to participate in this debate this afternoon. Wales has a long history of providing personnel to the UK armed forces. In many Welsh families, there will be some link with the armed forces, either through relatives or friends, particularly in the Valleys in my region of South Wales East.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: That is because Wales provides a disproportionately high number of personnel to the armed forces. Many leave an operational service to return to Wales every year in a bid to make the transition to civilian life. A combination of discipline, good skills and excellent work ethic mean that they are well placed to contribute to the economy. Unfortunately, many will struggle as a result of PTSD...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you for that response. Losing one's sight is an increasing problem in this country. Yesterday, RNIB Cymru staged an event—an introduction to sight loss—to encourage Members to consider how we would support and communicate with our blind and partially sighted constituents. RNIB Cymru says that 13 more people start to lose their vision every day in Wales. They also anticipate that the...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: 1. What steps has the Commission taken to ensure that the Senedd is accessible to blind and partially sighted people? OQ57803
Peredur Owen Griffiths: In addition, the regulatory impact assessment fails to outline costs to other bodies arising from the Bill, noting they are 'unknown at present.' However, the Bill is likely to require the post-compulsory education and training sector to alter their activities in certain areas. It is fundamental that an RIA assesses the impact of legislation on both the Welsh Government and other bodies. It...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: At present, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales regulates and provides funding for higher education, whilst the Welsh Government does so for the other tertiary education sectors. The committee acknowledges that the new commission created by the legislation will combine these activities into one body to try and achieve a coherent learning pathway, and we hope this will achieve...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you, Llywydd. I'm pleased to be able to contribute to this debate today as Chair of the Finance Committee. We have made 10 recommendations and, given the time available to me, I will focus on our main concerns. This is the first Bill to be introduced this Senedd, so I think it is important to reflect the Finance Committee's view that the regulatory impact assessment accompanying the...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Finally, the committee heard that the Welsh Government's staff budget will increase by £20 million on a recurrent basis from this year onwards. This represents a significant investment and, as a result, the committee asks for further details on how that money is being spent and whether any changes will be made to the Welsh Government's operating model as a result. Dirprwy Lywydd, I am...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: The committee welcomes the increase in allocations provided by this supplementary budget, as well as the steps taken by the Welsh Government to mitigate the impacts of the difficult economic challenges we are currently facing. The committee's report was laid before the Senedd yesterday, and, as we heard from the Minister just now, we made 11 recommendations. I'd like to begin by supporting...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am pleased to speak in this debate today on behalf of the Finance Committee. Thank you to my fellow Members for their work on committee. The committee scrutinised the second supplementary budget on 2 March, and I thank the Minister for her attendance.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. The Institute for Welsh Affairs report released this week made for grim reading. It concluded that Welsh communities are the least empowered in the UK. This was echoed during a conversation I had this week with somebody involved in the efforts to restore the Abertillery Stute, a once magnificent building that has seen better days but could once again be the hub of the...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: I listened to your answer there and I hope that you were looking at the Institute of Welsh Affairs report on community empowerment that was and should have been a wake-up call for the Government, which found that communities in Wales are the least empowered in the UK. This chimes with conversations I had, actually, this week with somebody behind the project to reopen the Abertillery...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Finally, given the seriousness of developments in Ukraine and the unfolding humanitarian crisis, I would like to ask the Minister what scope there is for additional support and funding to be provided for refugees. The First Minister has said that Wales aims to be a nation of sanctuary and has called on the UK Government to do more to help Ukrainian refugees. Clearly, there's a limit to what...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: The committee welcomes the £162.4 million allocated in the final budget to help those affected by the cost-of-living crisis, with £1.6 million of that allocated for the single advice fund to offer advice and support on income maximisation. We recommended that the Welsh Government take steps to raise the profiles of grants and schemes designed to address the cost-of-living crisis, so that...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I am pleased to contribute to this debate on the Welsh Government's final budget in my role as Chair of the Finance Committee. The committee's report on the scrutiny of the Welsh Government draft budget for 2022-23 included 41 recommendations. I am pleased that the Minister has accepted or accepted in principle all of our recommendations but one. Whilst this is a...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: I'd like to request a Government statement on day-care provision for disabled people during the pandemic. I raise this with you again because there seems to be a big contrast between what is provided, with some local authorities, such as Gwynedd and Blaenau Gwent, retaining day-care centre provision for the most profoundly disabled, and other local authorities, such as Caerphilly County...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Deputy Minister, for your statement.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: I broadly welcome today's statement with the progress towards a real living wage for all social care workers. Plaid Cymru has long called for a substantial pay increase in this sector. Social care jobs can be very rewarding, but they are very demanding and very responsible jobs. These jobs should be rewarded accordingly. Plaid Cymru wants parity of pay and parity of respect between health and...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Diolch, Minister. You mentioned the Warm Homes programme. Despite a 2010 Welsh Government target to eradicate fuel poverty as far as reasonably practicable in all households by 2018, fuel poverty was only reduced by 6 per cent in all households between 2012 and 2016. This Government is consulting on the next iteration of the Warm Homes programme, first launched in 2009. Many, including the...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Older people have endured a particularly difficult time during the pandemic, which has left many with anxiety about what the future holds. The cost-of-living crisis will add significantly to these worries, especially as fuel bills are already likely to be inflated due to the isolation requirements over the last two years. The Government announcement on the winter fuel...
