Llyr Gruffydd MS Member of the Senedd for North Wales

Llyr Gruffydd MS stated in the Senedd chamber – “Too many children with additional learning needs are being let down by the system.” And went on to ask – “With autistic children sometimes waiting years to be assessed, how is the Government addressing this injustice?”

There is growing concern that the whole support system for children with additional learning needs (ALN) is failing.  Mr Gruffydd added-

“Children referred for assessment frequently have to wait years for an assessment, and even when diagnosed the support simply isn’t there to help them.”

In 2018 the Welsh Government passed a law that makes supporting ALN a priority, and is meant to streamline the processes as well as to protect the rights of ALN children to get the support they need.

Llyr Gruffydd added-

“Currently, far too many children are falling through the net.  Some fail to get the assessment they need, others fail to get the most basic of support they need to thrive. 

“It is far too late for many of them – the most critical years of their education are behind them by the time they get any kind of help.”

“I call on the Government to sort this out as a matter of priority before we lose more of this generation to a system that is far from being fit-for-purpose”

In response to Llyr Gruffydd, Lynne Neagle the Cabinet Secretary for Education said-

“There is some really good practice in Wales, but there is more that we need to do to ensure consistent implementation across Wales, and that's something that I'm working on at the moment.

“There's more work to do. We've had encouraging feedback from Estyn, and they're currently conducting another thematic review.”

Llyr Gruffydd MS has hailed a dairy in the Conwy valley as a “fantastic example of rural entrepreneurship” and was full of praise for Llaethdy Plas Isa Dairy, in Llansanffraid, when he went there on a constituency visit.

The burgeoning company has a vending machine which is located near the pitch at Glan Conwy Football Club, which is just off the A470, it supplies a local milk round, as well as local stores

It produces full fat, semi-skimmed, and skimmed milk, as well as milk in a variety of flavours, including banana, chocolate and strawberry flavours.

The dairy, which has become a huge hit with locals since it was launched four years ago when the Jones family decided to set up a dairy on their Glan Conwy farm and sell directly to the public.

Rachael Jones and her husband Huw invested in much-needed specialist equipment such as a pasteurisation unit, which means their milk can be pasteurised on the farm. They also built a large extension on their dairy and installed a cool room.

Llŷr Gruffydd said:

“It was a pleasure to visit Llaethdy Plas Isa Dairy to find out more about the business and how it is innovating and how it is serving the local community.

“Their milk and their milkshakes are hugely popular and it’s no wonder because the taste is delicious.

“What Rachael and Huw have already achieved with Llaethdy Plas Isa Dairy is a fantastic example of rural entrepreneurship and I’m looking forward to seeing how the business develops in the future.

“They are investing in their business, in local people and in their community which is wonderful see. This helps ensure that the local community can remain vibrant and they’re making fantastic wholesome products while they’re at it.

“It is vital that the Welsh Government does all it can to support businesses such as this.”

Llyr Gruffydd called the current system ‘unfair’ and ‘unworkable’ for many people with disabilities and has called on the Welsh Government to issue a statement outlining a plan to overhaul the system.

In a statement in the Senedd this week Llyr Gruffydd, the regional Senedd Member for north Wales said-

“The current system forces individuals to reapply for their blue badges every three years, and that is causing concern for many. There's a high percentage of blue-badge users that have long-term or lifelong conditions, yet they still have to apply every three years for their new badges.

“Why is it that a passport or driving licence only needs to be renewed every 10 years, yet a disability blue badge needs renewing every three years? It simply isn’t fair.  There’s a further issue with the complexity of the forms that need to be filled out, and accessibility issues for applicants to obtain the passport photos needed from photobooths”

Concerns have been raised by hundreds of members of the disability rights community in North Wales with over 1600 supporters signing a petition calling on the Government to overhaul the process.  North Wales based charity Stand North Wales said

“This process can be very frustrating, and time consuming for both individuals and their caregivers and focus heavily on the negative aspects of an individual’s abilities”

Llyr Gruffydd went on to add-

“Surely, if you have a lifelong condition, then you should be able to get a lifelong blue badge.”

Llyr Gruffydd MS has taken aim at the “unsustainable” underfunding of care homes in North Wales, and has warned that not funding care homes properly is a “false economy” which could lead to bed blocking in hospitals.

He highlighted the fact that care comes receive less funding from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for providing continuing health care than they receive from local authorities for caring for people who have less intensive care needs – with one care home in Conwy receiving £6,000 less per year for every single resident.

Mr Gruffydd challenged the Welsh Government’s Minister for Social Care, Dawn Bowden on the issue during a debate in the Senedd, has been contacted by a number of care comes across North Wales that are concerned about the way the sector is currently being funded.

Llŷr Gruffydd MSsaid  “A number of care homes across north Wales have contacted me recently raising concerns about the state of the sector's funding.

“Care homes receive less funding from Betsi Cadwaladr for the provision of continuing healthcare than they receive from local authorities for caring for individuals who have less intensive care needs; in Conwy, for example, it's £6,000 per annum less for every resident.

“Now, the health board has made the funding decision for the current year without consulting with the sector, although now, by the way, as a result of the angry response from the sector and intervention from politicians, it has agreed to a meeting to find a way forward.

“But can I ask whether you agree with me that not funding care homes properly is a false economy?

“That is to say that if these care homes refuse to take residents or close because of underfunding from the health board, then it's the health board itself that will then have to deal with the situation, with more hospital beds blocked, and it's they who will pay the price.

“So, what steps are the Government taking to resolve this unsustainable situation? What advice do you have for Betsi Cadwaladr in terms of paying fair fees to care homes to avoid a situation where the care system is deteriorating, which would cost far more to Betsi Cadwaladr in the long term?” 

In response Dawn Bowden said that it was up to local authorities to “determine” how they allocate funding and that the Welsh Government “can't tell local authorities how to spend their money”.

Recently Llyr Gruffydd backed a campaign to end period poverty and reduce stigma said period poverty is “an issue that is impacting a significant number of young people across North Wales”.

Llyr Gruffydd has put his weight behind the Love Your Period campaign, which recently held an event at the Senedd.

He spoke with representatives from Irise International, which is an organisation that advocates for period equality for all.

The event, Every Period Counts: Ending Period Poverty a Stigma in Wales, was sponsored by fellow Plaid Cymru MS, Heledd Fychan.

It brought together young people from across Wales to share their experiences and discuss the necessary changes to end period poverty  and stigma for school pupils in Wales.

The aim is to raise awareness of menstrual health and advocate for better access to menstrual products. 

The Love Your Period campaign was founded by Molly Fenton from Cardiff, when she was just 18 years old and studying for er A Levels.

Molly, who has won a St David’s Award for her campaigning work, became inspired by period poverty campaigner Amika George during a period of time off school due to ill health.

She is driven by her the lack of guidance she experienced when she was growing up, and is determined to to empower girls across the nation through her internationally recognised movement.

She has bravely shared her own journey with a benign inoperable brain tumour through her blog, and wants to acts as the big sister other young women might not have by encouraging conversations about periods, sexuality, and health.

Llŷr Gruffydd MS said: “Period poverty is an issue that is impacting a significant number of young people across North Wales.

“Unfortunately it is an issue that has been ignored and unaddressed for far too long because of the stigma involved.

“That is why I am supporting the Love Your Period campaign to end period poverty and stigma for school pupils all over Wales.

“No one who needs sanitary products should be in a situation where they are forced to go without. 

“Everyone who needs these essential items should be able to access them without facing financial burdens or societal stigma.

“I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with representatives from Irise International about the important and award-winning work they are doing in the area of period equality programming and advocacy.

“I would also like to commend the work of Molly Fenton who at such a young age has shifted the conversation in Wales about topics often shrouded in stigma such as periods, sexuality, and health.

“There is a real need for open and honest conversations about young women's health and Love Your Period has become a sanctuary for girls, where they can find education, resources, and most importantly, a space to be heard and understood.

“It’s vital that young people’s voices are heard on issues that directly affect them. There is clearly a very important educational context to this issue and we need to ensure that there is access to period products in school toilets.”

Wrexham company's fire and re-hire tactics condemned by Llyr Gruffydd.

A Wrexham company's fire and re-hire tactics for its 1200 workers have been condemned by Llyr Gruffydd.  In a question in the Senedd recently,Llyr Gruffydd described the moves by Rowan Foods owners Oscar Mayer to fire and re-hire workers on worse working conditions that could cost an individual worker £3,000 a year. He called on the Welsh Government to act to ensure such attacks on workers’ conditions are rejected in Wales.

Mr Gruffydd made his comments in questions to Sarah Murphy, Minister for Social Partnership: “You might be aware that approximately 1,200 workers at Rowan Foods in Wrexham are facing an uncertain future due to plans by the owners, Oscar Mayer, to make workers redundant and change working conditions, and that includes an annual pay cut of £3,000.

“That's a policy of firing and rehiring on worse conditions, which obviously belongs to the Victorian age. I'm seeking a commitment now, as are the 1,200 workers and their union Unite, that this Government will do all it can to oppose such a regressive policy. So, do you agree that it's absolutely reprehensible that a company like this can on the one hand pay its chief executive £0.5 million a year and on the other hand treat its workers in this way? If you do, then what are you going to do to ensure that this firing and rehiring isn't allowed to happen?”

In response Sarah Murphy said: “Obviously I'm not in favour of fire and rehire, it's not something that, as a Welsh Labour Government, we are in favour of either. I know that sometimes they try to call it something else as well. But I myself have worked with trade unions over the years to very much push back on this, with the levers that we have at the moment in the Welsh Government.

“Obviously, where we're coming from and where I'm coming from as the Minister for Social Partnership is that we'd never want to get to a place where this is happening and is happening to workers in a way that surprises them, catches them off guard, and then leaves them high and dry but also without the support to maybe be upskilled and go on to other work. I would start by saying that is what we always endeavour to do. That is not what has been able to happen in this situation.

“I am very saddened to hear this. It is under the Cabinet Secretary for the economy. We take every hit like this and feel it as well. Ultimately, we want to make sure that this doesn't happen again going forward. But, let me say on record that, no, I do not agree with this approach, and I want to make sure that this cannot happen going forward.”

An MS has welcomed a group of Conwy school pupils to the Senedd.

A North Wales MS has paid tribute to the RSPCA on its 200th anniversary.

This week Llyr Gruffydd MS in his role as Plaid Cymru's Spokesperson on rural affairs questioned the Cabinet Secretary on Wales' voice in post-Brexit trade deals.

In the Senedd Chamber Llyr Gruffydd - Plaid Cymru's spokesman on rural affairs questioned the Cabinet Secretary on whether current trade deals negotiated on behalf of Wales' food producers are 'undermining' the industry.

In his question to Huw Irranca Davies, Llyr Gruffydd asked-

"Do you agree with Plaid Cymru's calls for Wales to have a veto on future trade deals if we believe that they are detrimental to the food and drink sector here in Wales? And would you agree with Plaid Cymru again that we would be better off as part of a single market and customs union?"

In his response Huw Irranca Davies indicated that he agreed, and went on to reply-

"On the issue of the voice for Wales in future trade deals, we've had no voice, we have no voice in the trade deals.

"It would be good to have some voice. Regardless of who is sitting in those top seats at a UK level going forward, particularly in food, not just our primary producers, but in the wider food supply chain, we need to have that voice. I'm not saying veto, I'm saying a voice. It's the sort of voice that we used to have, curiously, before we went through Brexit."

In the 8 years since voting to leave the European Union Plaid Cymru have accused both Labour and the Conservatives of being deadly silent on the damage Brexit has caused, and point out that Brexit has been hugely damaging to Wales for several reasons including -

• higher costs of household essentials;  
• Red tape and high charges for businesses;  
• Farmers undermined by post-Brexit trade deals allowing cheap imports to come to Wales.  
• Freedom of movement denied.  
• Local economies around Welsh ports such as Holyhead have suffered a real blow with a reduction in EU freight flow traffic.

"For how long will the Government insist that the mounting issues facing Hybu Cig Cymru are someone else's problem?" This is what Llyr Gruffydd asked the Cabinet Seceretary in the Senedd last week.

Following recent alligations, resignations and high staff turnover it seems that the problems are mounting for government agency Hybu Cig Cymru. The agency – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) is the industry-led organisation responsible for the development, promotion and marketing of Welsh red meat. The organisation is fully funded by Welsh Government.

Earlier this year the organisation faced serious alligations of bullying of staff, when six members of staff complained separately about bullying behaviour by a manager and an external investigation upheld several complaints against the individual concerned, according to S4C's Newyddion programme.

Llyr Gruffydd wrote to the previous Cabinet Seceretary, or Minister as it was then - Leslie Griffiths back in February of this year, expressing concern about the situation in HCC. At that time, he was told that the Government wasn't going to intervene. In the week leading to Mr Griffiths' intervention in the Senedd two directors resigned from the board, and it's become clear that the situation is deteriorating. Llyr Gruffydd has subsequently written a second letter to the Cabinet Seceretary to express concern about the deteriorating situation.

Last week Llyr Gruffydd asked the Cabinet Secretary, Huw Irranca Davies -

"You have said that they are focused on resolving these problems, but of course, that's what the Government's been saying for almost a year now. Don't you feel a responsibility for safeguarding the well-being of individuals within the organisation who are affected by these difficulties?

"We've heard already about the risk that exists of undermining the faith of levy payers, and, at the end of the day, the risk of having a negative impact on the brand and reputation of Welsh red meat. For how long will you say that this is someone else's problem?"

The Cabinet Secretary, Huw Irranca Davies responded-

"Whilst I'm very aware of the problems, it is not for me to step in and, in some ways, tell Hybu Cig Cymru what to do, or intervene in what are sensitive—I'm sure you'll appreciate—and delicate discussions with both current and former members. That is for Hybu Cig Cymru to do. Meanwhile, I as Cabinet Secretary am keenly focused on both the reputation and the performance of this organisation, and I'll continue to hold that focus on them."