Darren Millar: Diolch, Lywydd. I want to formally move the amendments tabled in the name of Paul Davies. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to speak in today’s debate, and I want to put on record my thanks to Estyn, as well, for the work that they do across Wales. Their inspections, of course, do provide us with a very valuable snapshot of what’s taking place in our schools across the country,...
Darren Millar: I’m very grateful to you for taking the intervention. Would you agree with me that we also then have to look at the bursary system, in order to perhaps use that to entice people in, particularly in those shortage areas that you just referenced?
Darren Millar: 2. What action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure an adequate supply of Welsh timber for the manufacturing industry in Wales? OAQ(5)0106(ERA)
Darren Millar: What action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure equal access to positive parenting courses in Wales?
Darren Millar: Cabinet Secretary, you’ll be aware that the latest Woodland for Wales indicators report revealed that, in the year to March 2016, just 348 acres of new woodland was created, which is significantly down from over 16,000 acres that were planted on average in each of the five years to 2014. That step change in planting seemed to coincide with the creation of Natural Resources Wales, and many...
Darren Millar: It’s a pleasure to take part in this important debate on child health, and I just want to take a few moments, if I can, just to highlight how important it is to get health messages home to children and to parents, and indeed to teaching professionals in our schools. One of the tools that, traditionally, has been used to deliver those important messages has been our school nursing workforce,...
Darren Millar: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on post-16 education in Wales? OAQ(5)0503(FM)
Darren Millar: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the data security breach affecting NHS staff using radiation dose meters? EAQ(5)0135(HWS)
Darren Millar: Thank you for that answer, leader of the house. There’s been a lot of talk about the need for parity of esteem between higher and further education in this Chamber over the past 10 years, but successive Welsh Labour Governments have failed to deliver on that talk and that ambition. The Wales Audit Office, in fact, has confirmed in a recent report on the oversight of further education...
Darren Millar: Thank you for that statement, Cabinet Secretary. This is an astonishing data security breach affecting thousands of NHS workers right across Wales. At the moment, we know that NHS staff in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board have been informed, all 654 of them. We know also that the Velindre trust has informed its members of staff, but, as yet, we’re unaware that other members...
Darren Millar: Thank you for your statement, Minister. Rwy'n falch iawn eich bod wedi cyflwyno’r datganiad hwn heddiw, oherwydd byddwch chi’n gwybod cystal â minnau bod Comisiynydd y Gymraeg, Rhieni dros Addysg Gymraeg, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg a llawer iawn o rai eraill—corws o leisiau, mewn gwirionedd—wedi mynegi eu pryderon am ansawdd a diffyg uchelgais cynlluniau strategol y Gymraeg mewn...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Lywydd. Can I move amendment 3 in the name of Paul Davies calling for sustainable development outcomes to be achieved through a more circular economy here in Wales? And, before I go into my speech, can I also echo the comments of Simon Thomas wishing Lesley Griffiths a speedy recovery? I think it is important that we continue to promote the reduce, reuse and recycle agenda, and...
Darren Millar: Of course.
Darren Millar: I absolutely agree, and that’s why I think the Welsh Government, the UK Government and indeed all the legislatures across the UK need to work together in order to secure some change in attitude from manufacturers and supermarkets and other retailers. One thing I will say, though, is that it’s really important to take the public with you on this journey. We’ve been successful as a nation...
Darren Millar: First Minister, if we want to have more people working closer to home, then what about homeworkers? One of the problems that homeworkers face in my constituency and in other parts, particularly of north Wales, is poor broadband connectivity. We saw a report last week that said that some of the slowest speeds can be found in north Wales, and there are still many people who don’t have access...
Darren Millar: Leader of the house, can I call for a further update statement from the Minister for Skills and Science on the roll-out of superfast broadband, particularly in north Wales? I had a public meeting yesterday in Llanarmon-yn-Iâl, and there were representatives there from Eryrys, Graianrhyd and Tafarn-y-Gelyn in my constituency, all of which are facing significant problems with their telecoms...
Darren Millar: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. Like Plaid Cymru, we’re also pleased to see that there’s been some progress with helping to develop some solutions to some of the pressing problems that we have, particularly in our public services. But, of course, this initiative did originally stem from the ‘Innovation Wales’ document, and that identified four key areas—smart specialisation...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Lywydd. Is the Minister concerned that almost half of Welsh further education colleges are in significant financial deficit?
Darren Millar: From that reaction, at least you’re acknowledging that there are problems here in Wales, unlike the leader of the house when I questioned her on this point last week. This isn’t fake news. These are true financial figures from colleges here in Wales. We’ve seen huge cuts in terms of funding for part-time courses in particular—71 per cent in recent years, and a reduction of 13 per cent...
Darren Millar: The Minister will be aware that the legacy of Gordon Brown’s failed economic policy and mismanagement of public finances is one that our country is still trying to get to grips with. And notwithstanding the pressures on public finances, the reality is that the cuts that you have made in the further education sector in Wales are larger than the cuts that have been imposed on the Welsh block...
