Alun Davies: Llywydd, we’re all aware that proposals are being discussed in Powys at present. It’s a possibility that those proposals will come before Welsh Ministers for a decision. So, the Member will not be able to tempt me to offer any comments on the specific examples that he’s described in Powys this afternoon. But may I say this about the principle behind the question? I don’t want to...
Alun Davies: Many of the matters the Member has referred to in his question are, of course, matters for the local authority rather than matters for us here. But let me make a more general point in response—I think the general point does deserve a fuller response than that. You’ll be aware that the Cabinet Secretary made a very comprehensive statement to the Chamber on the issue of rural schools. She...
Alun Davies: Presiding Officer, prior to answering this question I would like to put on record an interest in this matter, in that I have a child attending a Welsh-medium primary school in mid Wales. The national strategy for small and rural schools will provide support for schools to work together as well as a £2.5 million grant. This will support Welsh-medium and bilingual primary schools to work...
Alun Davies: Your comments are on the record and I will bring them to the attention of the Cabinet Secretary and we will write to you in response to that and try to do that positively; I don’t think there’s any discussion about the veracity of the points that you’ve made. In terms of the reforms that we’re seeking to make, we want a system where needs are identified early, addressed quickly, and...
Alun Davies: It looks like I’m going to regret my generosity. [Laughter.] I certainly will make sure that we do contact each other, and we arrange those conversations. In many ways, although we sit on different sides of the Chamber, I know that the ambition is shared, and I don’t think that these matters are party political issues. I don’t simply think they’re a matter for Government and...
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, acting Presiding Officer. I’m sure we’re all grateful to everybody who’s brought Andrew to the Chamber, in all sorts of different ways. I think the first thing I’d like to say is that I certainly recognise the picture that’s been painted for us this afternoon. It isn’t my purpose in replying to this debate to try to either ignore the reality or paint a...
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and thank you for the opportunity to respond to this discussion. I was listening to the contribution from every part of the Chamber and I had written on my notes here to thank Plaid Cymru for the way Llyr had opened the debate, and I had also written to thank you for the sense of consensus that is in each part of the Chamber. [Laughter.] So, at least I can be...
Alun Davies: Formally.
Alun Davies: The Government will be responsible for ensuring that there is a workforce in every area that can make the provision that we need for the future. I welcome the addition to the budget that we have now, to be able to develop a workforce for the future. The Member will be aware that the Cabinet Secretary, Kirsty Williams, has made a statement this morning to say that there is a working group...
Alun Davies: I expect local authorities to be able to do that, and to ensure that they have the necessary expertise to have assessments that are comprehensive. If that isn’t true, or if you or any other Member has concerns about the system and how it works, you are welcome to write to me to ensure that we can change the system, if we need to do that.
Alun Davies: The statutory school organisation code requires a number of different factors to be taken into account by relevant bodies developing school reorganisation proposals, including the Welsh language. Wherever proposals affect schools where Welsh is a medium of instruction, local authorities should carry out a Welsh language impact assessment.
Alun Davies: I hope that they will be able to help us do that. In terms of your earlier question, we haven’t reached final decisions on some of those matters. Those matters are still being discussed within Government. I gave an undertaking to write to the committee when we have concluded those discussions this morning, and I’ll circulate that more widely to Members if that’s required. In terms of...
Alun Davies: We’re considering at present how we’re going to divvy up that money in the future, but I do agree with the points that have been made. Boosting the use of the Welsh language is just as important as learning or teaching Welsh. We do want to ensure that we are collaborating with the mentrau iaith to ensure that people have opportunities to use and speak and improve their Welsh, particularly...
Alun Davies: I hear the points that the Conservatives’ spokesperson has made. If she has any evidence that people aren’t getting the wage that they should, she’s free to write to me with details on that and I will be pleased to answer her. But, more generally, the Mudiad Meithrin, as you’ve suggested, is a vital part of our plans to expand and develop Welsh provision for early years children, and...
Alun Davies: The workforce development schemes have been very successful in the area of education, and we continue to invest in education to ensure that that success continues and that we can build on the foundations that we have. We have, as I was discussing with the Member in committee this morning, a budget agreement, and we will continue to discuss how we implement the budget agreement in order to...
Alun Davies: Yes, absolutely. I think Members across the Chamber will want to join together in welcoming the developments that we’re seeing, and developments in a constituency are certainly to be welcomed, as they are elsewhere. But, enabling children and young people to attend these educational institutions is absolutely essential. There’s no point opening doors if the students can’t reach there....
Alun Davies: I will maintain the spirit of agreement this afternoon by agreeing with the analysis in the question. It is important that we have targets that are reachable and which also allow us to reach our broader target on an all-Wales basis. I expect local authority WESPs to be presented by December this year, and those plans will show how local authorities expect to reach their targets during the...
Alun Davies: We need to see a significant increase in the number of children and young people in Welsh-medium education if we are to achieve our ambitious target of a million speakers by 2050. The final version of the Welsh language strategy will include targets to measure outcomes and delivery.
Alun Davies: Schools are able to deliver dementia training across all age groups through the teaching of personal and social education and we will be publicising the ‘Creating a dementia-friendly generation’ resources developed by the Alzheimer’s Society through our Dysg newsletter.
Alun Davies: Schools are able to deliver dementia training across all age groups through the teaching of personal and social education and we will be publicising the ‘Creating a dementia-friendly generation’ resources developed by the Alzheimer’s Society through our Dysg newsletter.
