Peredur Owen Griffiths: While there are not as many holiday homes in South Wales East as in other parts of the country, the crux of the issue here is the same: people can't afford to buy homes in the place they consider home. Property prices and average wages are both going up, but when the former outpaces the latter, we have a problem. Local people can't afford houses in their neighbourhoods. The communities I...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: During the past few weeks, we've heard a great deal about the housing crisis in Wales, and the media focus has particularly been on the impacts of second homes on Welsh-speaking communities. The importance of this issue is clear, but we must tackle the broader problem that we face in Wales.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Gwent Police covers the South Wales East region that I represent. In recent years, they were the only police force to record a rise in road traffic accidents. A closer look at these figures shows that incidents where someone was seriously injured have more than doubled from 82 in 2015 to 179 in 2019. I've been involved in a speed reduction campaign on the streets of Six Bells in Blaenau...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Will the Minister make a statement on the recovery of health services in south-east Wales in light of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Research from Carers Wales shows that unpaid carers looking after disabled, ill or elderly family members or friends have saved the Welsh Government £33 million every single day since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Against that backdrop, the provision of £3 million during the whole of 2021-22—split into two phases, with a first phase of £1.75 million further split between 22 local...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you very much, and thank you to you for your statement. I'd like to add my thanks to those heroes that we have—those unsung heroes, those unpaid heroes the length and breadth of Wales—who care for others every day.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you to the Minister for her statement.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: It's important that people wishing to apply for this scheme are offered as much support as possible, and, as has been mentioned previously, the deadline is fast approaching at the end of this month. In the last Senedd, the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee wrote to the Welsh Government with their recommendations. Their recommendations were for the Welsh Government to...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for the opportunity to contribute this afternoon, and congratulations indeed to all of the Members on their election. I'd like to thank my constituents for putting their faith in me to represent them as a regional Member.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: The coronavirus pandemic has sparked in us a renewed appreciation for our green spaces, the importance and the beauty of Wales and the Welsh outdoors, and the need for a green recovery. However, last June, when we saw fast-food drive-throughs reopening, our green spaces became plagued with litter. Littering is a pervasive problem across Wales, no less in the south-east, and my constituents...
