, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr. Well, I'm really grateful that you've raised this question; it was raised yesterday by Jack Sargeant, and the First Minister responded in full to this, very much acknowledging what you've said, that the north and south Wales standing charges…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
The numbers of people in debt to their energy companies and struggling to make ends meet is devastating. The situation in north and south Wales is exacerbated by high standing charges, an injustice that the UK Government and Ofgem must address urgently.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you very much for your very important question.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr. Of course, investment in early years is absolutely crucial in terms of tackling child poverty. Again, I was very struck with the fact that we have kept our Flying Start scheme going and we've expanded it again in co-operation with Plaid Cymru…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
I associate myself entirely with your statement and your points that you've made, in terms of the rise of this hostility, particularly from our Home Secretary, Suella Braverman. I was very pleased to meet with the 'HOPE not hate' movement recently, and I'm…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Well, I think I probably responded to that in answer to your second question. I will raise this issue with the Minister for Health and Social Services—obviously, it's within her portfolio responsibilities—but also I'll say that I welcome this evidence and I…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you, Mark. That's a very important and pertinent question because, of course, I co-chair a disability rights taskforce. I co-chair it with Professor Debbie Foster and disabled people are the members of that taskforce, with our sector partners as well in…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you very much. A crucial area of priority for me in terms of tackling child poverty, and, of course, in developing our child poverty strategy—. We have a commitment as you know—you were here when we passed the Children and Families (Wales) Measure…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr. That is a very important question and recommendation in the committee's report. I've just referred to the housing White Paper published yesterday. I think it's really important that we've now got an opportunity to look at this in terms of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr. Well, of course, the report itself highlights how devolved services, such as housing, mental health, substance misuse and employability, have a huge role to help women, to try to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system, and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
The Welsh Government continues to work collaboratively with partner organisations to deliver progress on a number of recommendations made by the committee. An excellent example of this has been our success, following the report’s publication, in securing…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you for your question.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Diolch yn fawr. Thanks very much.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Well, thank you, Vikki. I think, probably and hopefully, Amelia's response now covered that, not just in terms of how this is a priority and that we're recruiting people at a high level and also the team, but also the fact that Stuart has stayed in this post…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Well, the policy team will be up to strength by the end of this year, but do you want to add anything more, Amelia?
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Well, at the moment, Travelling Ahead—we've extended it. We extended it at the end of July to the end of this financial year, but we're now scoping and working with them. We want this to be something where we work with them, learn from them. They're very…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Yes. I’ve mentioned the fact that there’s representation on the external accountability group. And the families I met were brought together by Tros Gynnal Plant, through the Travelling Ahead project and they agreed—the people who they’re advocating for—to…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Thank you very much, Jayne. I was so pleased that you undertook this inquiry and that you focused on the 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan', and it’s two years since we launched that plan for implementation. It was co-produced with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Well, we may well be getting close to that. I’ve kind of given the team this timeline, and in answer to Sioned Williams’s questions earlier on about when the assessments—when we can approve—end of year, we’ve said. But I think when you think of all the…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
I've got a commitment today from the equality leads in local government, some of whom are new. What's interesting is that with the local government elections last year we had some not just newly elected councillors, there were newly elected and new cabinet…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
It's one of those things where I've said—and I've probably said it in the Senedd, haven't I? You've heard me say I wouldn't hesitate to use powers of direction, but we do have to try and work through this on the team Wales basis. I said this, actually, this…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Well, this is a very big question, isn't it, Altaf. Yesterday morning, I went on the most inspiring visit to Fitzalan High School, just down the road, actually in brand new buildings. I went there to listen to and meet the Roma choir. Fitzalan is the most…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
End of the year.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
Well, once—. We're working on the ones that we've got; we've only got one outstanding. We now have to look at them in terms of how robust are those assessments to meet the site needs—that's where our team works very closely with not just the local…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
The provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers - Evidence from the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
I don't know whether you're getting further evidence from local government, actually, in terms of an update on your inquiry. It is true to say that we've now only one that's outstanding; there were five in March. It is a two-way process, it requires us to…
