4. 4. Statement by the Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee on the Committee's Forward Work Programme including Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Unaccompanied Children

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:12 pm on 19 October 2016.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 3:12, 19 October 2016

I thank Julie Morgan very much for her ideas as to the sort of work that the committee could carry out as part of this inquiry. It’s really useful to have those ideas coming forward today as part of this statement. I’m sure the committee will be very interested to look at all those areas of work.

Can I say that I, too, caught some of the debate today in terms of how you determine the age of young people coming here as part of some of these resettlement schemes? I know that many in the medical profession have serious concerns around medical ethics in terms of carrying out scans, for example, that might have possible health consequences when there isn’t a medical reason for that procedure to take place. So, I think there are some serious issues and, of course, in terms of human dignity, I think that many of us would have strong views as to what should and what shouldn’t take place. So, I’m sure that these, as topical matters, will be matters that the committee will be concerned with. It is about attitudes, isn’t it? If we are to give the warm welcome that should be on offer in Wales to asylum seekers, refugees and unaccompanied children, then we do need to get the right messages across and try and create the right atmosphere in Wales and within our communities. To some extent, I think we do hope for responsible media coverage, which, unfortunately, is by no means always the case.

We will be doing work around community cohesion and looking at how we can integrate people as effectively as possible. I think that does come down to attitudes and messages, and the atmosphere that prevails. So, I think those will be interesting matters for the committee to look at. I very much agree that, not just people coming from Syria, but many others too, bring valuable skills, professional qualifications and experience, which are very valuable and will be very valuable in Wales, and could fill some important gaps in terms of provision of public services and adequate numbers of qualified professionals and experienced professionals to carry out those jobs. So, again, I think that will be a significant part of that work.

As the Member stated—it’s my experience as well in Newport, as a multi-ethnic area, that schools with high levels of children from a variety of diverse communities do bring a lot of energy, a lot of commitment to education, and a lot of drive to succeed to those schools, for their benefit, but also for the benefit of the other pupils and the whole school.