I want to write to Peredur Owen Griffiths
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...I'm a Minister who likes targets; not all Ministers do.' The Minister went on to say: 'I personally think that targets, when you look at the amount of Welsh food and drink that is procured by our schools, for instance, in school meals, and our hospitals and health boards, I certainly think that we need to increase it.' The Minister finished the response to my question by saying: 'Whenever...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...contact where an individual only has to tell their story once. We have been long advocates of a ‘no wrong door’ approach and it's pleasing that progress is being made in this area. Turning to education maintenance allowance, however, it is difficult to understand why the Government has not been able to increase the value of the education maintenance allowance, which has remained...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...scheme is going to be phased out in June. For many of the communities I represent, the bus service is a lifeline. For older people, it represents independence; for young people, it represents education; and for people who do not have a car, it represents employment. I fear your Government's decision is going to have a huge detrimental impact on people's lives. It would also run counter to...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...has also made concrete recommendations to improve what is already on offer. This includes encouraging the expansion of the free childcare model, considering an increase in the value of the educational maintenance allowance, which has not been increased since the mid 2000s, and prioritising the development of a replacement Warm Homes programme as a matter of urgency to prevent fuel poverty....
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...deadline, and mine for another three years, has caused considerable distress to residents due to concerns over air quality and noise pollution. The site is located just meters away from homes, schools and playgrounds. Can the Counsel General confirm whether article 67, section 26A of the Coal Industry Act 1994 gives Welsh Ministers the ultimate responsibility for approving bids for coal...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...encroachment on an area that, as the Minister for Economy said, is 'plainly devolved'. We are disappointed with the method of allocating funds through the Multiply programme, and, given that education is devolved, we recommended that the UK Government provides flexibility to spend funds from the programme in other areas. We also acknowledge the Welsh Government’s position that the...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...and services. Public procurement is finally at the forefront of this Government's agenda, thanks to Plaid Cymru and the co-operation agreement. This was included specifically in terms of the free school meal policy, but this Bill gives us the opportunity to widen the remit of public procurement and keep the Welsh pound circulating within our economy. Anyone with an interest in supporting...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...'s Cymru go as far as describing the EMA as a lifeline for many young people that they help. They go as far as saying that it can be the difference between a young carer being able to go into education or not. Unfortunately, many of these young carers end up being penalised, as Heledd said, through their EMA payments due to lateness or absence, which are often caused by their caring...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...accommodation, is characterised by the inability of those who live in or have grown up in a community to buy or rent homes in said areas. The crisis means that many public services become unviable. Schools close, shops close, community facilities close. Communities erode and ultimately disappear. Let's be clear: this is not just a rural issue. The effects of second homes on our rural...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...the history of devolution, because the cost-of-living crisis will have a brutal and merciless impact on almost everybody, but especially the most vulnerable, without significant state intervention. Education is one of the many places where this crisis will be felt. Some children not covered by our free school meals policy will be going hungry this winter. Have you given any thought to...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...priority, with many Members referencing it. We heard from many contributors today, and I'm not going to rehearse the arguments and the comments we heard, but the broad areas were mental health, education, paid and unpaid carers, pay and conditions for public sector workers, infrastructure and capital spend, public transport, access to justice, raising revenue, health and social care and...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...public services; creating a greener Wales; improving services for children and young people; and the impact of increases in transport costs across different sectors. In the citizens focus groups, education and children and young people were prioritised most frequently by participants, followed closely by health and social care. From those discussions, we can distil these issues into six...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: .... We believe that greater efforts need to be made by the Welsh Government to develop a longer term workforce plan so that these pressures can be mitigated and staff burn-out avoided. On free school meals, I'm pleased that the Minister is bringing forward this policy so that it is available to pupils from September onwards. That said, the committee is aware that individual schools will be...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...in student loan interest rates, combined with the added pressure brought on by the cost-of-living crisis, to ensure that kids from working class families are not discouraged from entering higher education?
Peredur Owen Griffiths: 9. How is the Government encouraging children in South Wales East to embark on further education? OQ58221
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...well as looking at community-based solutions to this issue, such as community food hubs? These could bring sustainability to local communities, provide food parcels, and be a source of agricultural education.
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ...agreement, which has put many of Plaid Cymru's manifesto commitments on the agenda of the Government, there are some rays of sunshine amid a gloomy picture. The commitment to guarantee a free school meal for every primary school pupil in Wales will be truly transformational for thousands of families. The bold steps for tackling Wales's growing housing crisis will also address the...
Peredur Owen Griffiths: ..., 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 is...
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: ...for many. The committee notes the Welsh Government’s ongoing efforts to address the crisis, such as the discretionary assistance fund, help with winter fuel bills and the extension of free school meals, although we heard that a range of schemes have a low profile, meaning the most vulnerable people are missing out. The committee urges the Minister to liaise with the Minister for Social...
