John Griffiths: ...home of their own on their own parcel of land. We heard of a myriad of barriers and legal obstacles to the granting of planning permission. Many families, in fact, go to great expense to hire legal representation and planning specialists to help them navigate a complicated system, too often without success. We were pleased to hear, then, that Welsh Government has committed to commission a...
John Griffiths: ...history, by modern history in Wales. Wales is developing, Wales is moving on; the Welsh Conservatives are left behind. And look at the benches over there—you know, to oppose measures to improve representation of women, for example, over half of the population of this country—. And we look at the benches over there—. It's great to see Natasha here, but there is obviously a dearth of...
John Griffiths: ..., such as students and the social housing sector. One of the areas where we have recommended changes is in relation to accommodation provided as part of a minister of religion's role. We received representations from Cytûn and the Church in Wales, highlighting some very specific issues around this type of accommodation. We agreed that the Bill should be amended to ensure that properties...
John Griffiths: ...' understanding that they too could represent Newport on the city council. It encouraged them to get involved in front-line politics in different parties, and it's so good to see the diversity of representation that we have on Newport City Council today. I know many of them would recognise the debt of gratitude that they owe to Oscar in those terms. Of course, as an Assembly Member and a...
John Griffiths: ...we can certainly work towards greater diversity in general. What Huw said about Paul Flynn I think is very true—that Paul was very strong in arguing for the octogenarian demographic and greater representation for that age group at all levels of politics, but, certainly, we want to see as much diversity as possible at all levels of government in Wales, and we will work towards that, as a...
John Griffiths: ...members. Several witnesses, though not all, supported introducing some form of quotas, particularly around gender; one told us that, based on the current trend, there will not be equal gender representation until 2073. Clearly, something needs to change. The attempts to encourage more women into politics have not had the desired effect, and women face greater barriers to becoming elected...
John Griffiths: ...in our communities and to get the support they need. However, we also heard evidence that, in a number of areas, the Welsh Government needs to do more to help delivery partners. It needs to make representations to the UK Government, refresh its strategic direction, and get directly involved in delivery. It is gratifying that the committee’s work made a significant impact during the...
John Griffiths: ...reason to apply them to devolved authorities in Wales. We heard that access to facility time is essential to enable trade union representatives not only to carry out their duties around individual representation and collective bargaining, but to engage in the wider public service improvement agenda. We also heard compelling evidence about the benefits of facility time and the associated...
John Griffiths: Counsel General, it seems to me that the absence of representation from Wales on the Supreme Court panel is an important gap in the democratic framework within the UK. Do you agree that the body adjudicating on constitutional matters affecting the whole of the UK population should include representatives from the whole of the UK?
John Griffiths: 7. What representations has the Counsel General made in respect of appointing a Welsh judge to the Supreme Court? OAQ(5)0026(CG)
