TACKLING poverty in Wales will be top priority for a Welsh Assembly committee over the next five years, its chairman and Newport AM has said.

John Griffiths, who has represented Newport East in the Senedd since the Assembly was founded in 1999, was elected as chairman of the Assembly’s Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee following May’s election.

The cross-party committee is one of a number formed to examine planned legislation and hold the Welsh Government to account on issues such as poverty, human rights, housing and a range of other concerns.

The Labour AM said he believed the committee had a central role in the effective running of the Welsh Government.

“We are likely to be very busy in the coming years,” he said.

“I want to ensure we do a robust job and hold the Welsh Government to account.”

Mr Griffiths said his upbringing in Pill had given him first-hand experience of the struggles faced by many families in Newport.

“We are still dealing with the problems of post-industrial decline,” he said.

“That provides so many challenges for Wales as a nation.

“We need to understand these challenges and deal with them effectively.”

Mr Griffiths said other issues he hoped the committee could tackle over the next five years included the integration of refugees into Welsh society, stamping out domestic violence and increasing the supply of domestic and social housing.

“If you have an unequal society everyone in that society suffers,” he said.

“At the end of the day who wants to feel at greater risk of crime because some people are desperate?

“All of us have a responsibility for this.”

For more information on the committee and other elements of the Assembly visit senedd.assembly.wales.

Committee meetings can be watched live at senedd.tv.