, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Welsh Benefits System and Charter
Diolch yn fawr, John Griffiths, and can I thank you for the leadership you showed as Chair of the committee that actually did undertake this work in the last Senedd, and the way in which you gave the evidence that, in fact, was then very much endorsed by the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Welsh Benefits System and Charter
Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. And this is a very important product of our co-operation agreement. And it's good that it's provided an impetus and has brought to fruition recommendations from a previous committee that was a cross-party committee here in the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Welsh Benefits System and Charter
Diolch yn fawr, Mark Isherwood. I’m sure you must be delighted to see that the work that you were involved in, indeed, with John Griffiths chairing that committee, has now come to fruition with the launch of the Welsh benefits charter. Clearly, this is about…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Welsh Benefits System and Charter
Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. I welcome this opportunity to make a statement on the launch of the Welsh benefits charter on 22 January 2024 at Blaenavon Resource Centre with the leader of Torfaen County Borough Council and Plaid Cymru’s designated Member…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Nation of Sanctuary update
Diolch yn fawr, Alun Davies. It is important that we stand up to Putin. We can all stand up to Putin—we are today—and to the aggression of Putin and his forces. And this is why marking the courage and the strength of the Ukrainian cause is so important today…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Nation of Sanctuary update
Diolch yn fawr, Rhianon Passmore. I'm glad you've also widened this to reflect on the situation with the horrific death of Alexei Navalny and to recognise Putin is there, Putin is responsible, and also to acknowledge the huge courage and bravery of Yulia…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Nation of Sanctuary update
Well, yes, you have obviously reflected on wider issues of world conflict, which are important to us in terms of our international relations and understanding and our global responsibilities and citizenship. What we have to see is that in terms of—. The fact…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Nation of Sanctuary update
Diolch, Sioned Williams. Yes, as you say, it's a terrible anniversary that we mark today. Again, I thank you for recognising the widespread humanitarian response in Wales that we’ve seen. It’s good again to put on the record remembering the role of the Urdd…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Nation of Sanctuary update
Diolch yn fawr, Mark Isherwood. I concur with you fully on your words about the barbarism of Putin and, as is, I think, reflected across this Chamber, the great gratitude in recognition of the bravery, courage and strength of the people of Ukraine for their…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Nation of Sanctuary update
To symbolise this, we will be lighting up some Government buildings in Cardiff this week, and tomorrow evening I will be speaking at an event sponsored by Mick Antoniw MS, here at the Senedd. This is a landmark visit to the UK by front-line medics from…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Nation of Sanctuary update
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. The twenty-fourth of February marks the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Putin. Since that time, more than 7,500 Ukrainians have been forced to relocate to Wales, with millions more displaced across Europe…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr, John Griffiths, for drawing attention again to those two examples of delivery of the 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan', in a school and in a community organisation in Newport, because as you say, we need a step change in the delivery of public…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you for that question. The 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan' is vital for achieving our goal of becoming an anti-racist nation by 2030. We are committed to transparency and openly sharing progress against the plan, and our first annual report was…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr. I did struggle over that recommendation, because I could understand where it came from; I could understand the evidence from my colleagues, not just on the Equality and Social Justice Committee, but the Children, Young People and Education…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
We will see whether that is delivered. I can see that there are questions being raised in terms of the capacity of the workforce, a workforce that, of course, we are rebuilding as a result of our investment here in Wales. And of course it's the Deputy…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr, Cefin Campbell. A really important point about how the child poverty strategy was developed in terms of consultation, a consultation that not only included the End Child Poverty Network players, the child poverty sector, but also Young Wales…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Just getting excited with my response to the last question—a serious response to the last question, and this follows on very well to your question, Cefin Campbell. Our child poverty strategy outlines our long-term ambition and vision for delivering for…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you very much for your question.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Well, I do wonder whether you would agree to devolve social security to Wales. Because, without the devolution of powers, the powers that actually impact on poverty, and social security is key to that—. And, in fact, it's not just the Equality and Human…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you very much, Huw Irranca-Davies. I agree with you and recognise that key recommendation on justice and policing by the independent commission. It takes me back to a written statement that I and the Counsel General produced on 14 November, and perhaps…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr, Huw Irranca. The constitution commission's report sets out a compelling cross-party assessment of the flaws in the current devolution settlement that deserves careful consideration. The First Minister yesterday made a statement about this…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you very much, Jack Sargeant, and can we thank you again for the report that the Petitions Committee—a cross-party committee—produced on this issue and for the work that you've done in championing this cause, with the evidence that you have gathered…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you for that question. I'm glad you recognise the desperately difficult situation that people on prepayment meters find themselves in. It is very important for households in energy debt to contact their energy suppliers, and I meet regularly with energy…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
I agree wholeheartedly with those points that you've made, Delyth Jewell. I've repeatedly called for a ban on the involuntary installation of prepayment meters. It removes the ability of households to spread the cost of their energy needs evenly over a…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you for the question. Many of the 200,000 Welsh householders on prepayment meters are on the lowest incomes and are at risk of self-disconnecting as they struggle to make ends meet. We're here to help with emergency funds, support on income maximisation…
