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: 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: 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: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on progress with local government reform in Wales? OAQ(5)0698(FM)
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: 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: Minister, I wanted to raise matters that I know you are aware of, because we've corresponded about them, and that is the issue of the AB company failure in the Goldcliff area in my constituency, because that failure has left residents without internet access, which, as we can all imagine, has created a great deal of problems and frustration for them. There is a temporary solution in terms of...
John Griffiths: How representative of the diversity of Wales's population are our local authorities following last month's local elections?
John Griffiths: Could I add my voice to those expressing the very obvious value that the people of Wales and, indeed, far beyond Wales, put on our great outdoors? It’s obviously very important in many ways to our country and we’re very lucky to have such an attractive landscape and, indeed, seascape. It’s obviously very important to tourism, to activity tourism as part of that, and to the general...
John Griffiths: Would you agree with me, First Minister, that active travel must be an important part of integrated transport in south-east Wales, and now that local authorities are working up their integrated plans for the future, Welsh Government must continue to take a keen interest in those plans and make sure that they fit with that wider integrated transport agenda?
John Griffiths: Excuse me, Llywydd, I’m temporarily embarrassed, I’m afraid. I’ll have to get that question up.
John Griffiths: Thank you for the opportunity to pay tribute to Rhodri in the Senedd today, and, of course, in the presence of Julie, who formed such a strong partnership with Rhodri over so many years, in marriage and politically. It was a privilege, Llywydd, to serve with Rhodri in the Assembly, and indeed in Government, and I’m very grateful to Rhodri for giving me my first opportunities as a member of...
John Griffiths: 4. Will the First Minister provide an update on progress with integrated transport in south-east Wales? OAQ(5)0614(FM)
John Griffiths: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I think at the root of this debate today is the fact that all of us here live in a secure, stable and prosperous part of the world, but as we all know, and as we’ve heard already, and as the briefings from Oxfam Cymru, Save the Children and the Red Cross provided for this debate show with their tragic statistics, very many people in the world are not in that...
John Griffiths: What policy will the Welsh Government follow to support city centre businesses in Wales?
John Griffiths: Just on black and ethnic minority services—
John Griffiths: Very, very quickly, Dirprwy Lywydd—only to say that we do have an example through Marie Curie of how we can provide an enhancement of service and a greater access. And I think we do need to roll that out, that sort of approach, throughout our communities in Wales.
John Griffiths: Very quickly, then. First of all, there’s the taboo that is involved in discussing these matters. Obviously, today is a way of addressing how we overcome that taboo by the very nature of the statement, and the debate and the delivery plan. But it does seem to me that there was a time when death was much more a family and community experience, you know when bodies were in the home, as it...
John Griffiths: I, too, very much welcome this statement today, allowing us to focus on these very important services that matter so much to people and their families across Wales. And like many others, I’m familiar with my local services in Newport, and the St David’s foundation, and I know that they have very impressively grown and expanded their services and presence, not just in Newport, but...
