Darren Millar: Can I also put on record my thanks to the outgoing auditor general, Huw Vaughan Thomas? I had the privilege of being able to serve as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee for five years of his tenure, and, of course, he stepped into that office at a time that was very, very difficult for the Wales Audit Office, because of incidents that had taken place immediately prior to his appointment....
Darren Millar: Can I thank the Chair of the committee for opening the debate and summarising so well all of the themes within this report on such an important topic? The Chair's absolutely right: the success of our education system is down to the quality of the teachers that are in it, and I know that this is something that we all, across this Chamber, feel passionately about. I have to say that I was a...
Darren Millar: Of course, very happy to.
Darren Millar: Well, I think it's—. Local decision makers obviously have a part to play in this, but on top of that there have been some decisions by the Welsh Government to take certain grants out of the education funding landscape. We've seen this with cuts to the minority ethnic and Gypsy/Traveller grants, for example, which are having a huge impact right now across the whole country. But, of course,...
Darren Millar: I am—it's just a very important point, and this is about the acceptance only in principle of the need to extend powers to suspend people. From a safeguarding situation, I think it is appalling that you've not just accepted that and aren't cracking on with it. We know that when people are accused of rape or child molestation—
Darren Millar: I appreciate that.
Darren Millar: The issue is there's a safeguarding problem. People who are accused of rape or child molestation, even if they are innocent, there should be a period during which they are suspended from the teaching register. That's not going to be the case at the moment in Wales because they don't have powers to do that. That needs to change.
Darren Millar: Will you take an intervention?
Darren Millar: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I move the amendment on behalf of my colleague, Paul Davies, tabled for the Welsh Conservatives? Obviously, you would expect us not to be supporting the original motion, given that it's got some congratulations in there to Plaid Cymru. That's not something that we're prepared to do, but we understand the spirit in which it's been laid, and it is right and proper that...
Darren Millar: Yes.
Darren Millar: Look, as you well know, the UK Government is fully supportive of the British steel industry, and just this last week has been speaking out against the tariffs that are being imposed in the United States. And I think it's important that you should listen more carefully to the UK Government and the important job that it has done in championing the Welsh steel industry and the wider steel...
Darren Millar: I appreciate that the majority are, but it's only just a majority. Forty-five per cent, three and a half years after they graduate, are not staying in Wales, and they're not coming back to Wales. Surely, that is a matter of concern for you, as is the level of salary that those individuals have as well, with 68 per cent not getting £21,000 or more.
Darren Millar: First Minister, one group of young people who often miss out on a university education are those from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds. And you'll know that part of the reason for that is their poor performance at GCSEs compared to their peers. They get 30 per cent lower in terms of the individuals who actually pass five or more CGSEs at grades A* to C. Now, one of the things which your...
Darren Millar: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government support for children and young people in Clwyd West? OAQ51967
Darren Millar: First Minister, in common with other parts of Wales, children in my constituency have also been affected by the withdrawal of the school uniform grant. I listened carefully to what you suggested was going to take place, i.e. that there's going to be a successor grant, but, of course, this existing grant, which has now been withdrawn was withdrawn without any consultation whatsoever with key...
Darren Millar: Can I call for two statements, please, from the leader of the house? The first is in support, really, of John Griffiths's call for a statement on road safety. The leader of the house will be aware that there's significant concern in my own constituency around speeding on the Evo triangle, which is a triangular route in Conwy and Denbighshire that has been the scene of many deaths and a...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Cadeirydd. Can I thank you for your statement and for the briefing that you afforded me earlier on, with you and your senior officials? I think this is an important piece of legislation that needs to be taken through the Assembly in order that we can hang upon this framework the financial arrangements that will need to be in place for the new childcare offer. And you will be aware, of...
Darren Millar: Now, notwithstanding that, of course, there are some concerns that the eligibility criteria for access to free childcare is restrictive in a way that means that there's not a universal offer that's being made. The children's commissioner and others have voiced their concerns that those young people who are from poorer backgrounds tend to be around 10 months behind their peers in terms of...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Cadeirydd. Look, while I welcome any additional funding that you might announce on behalf of the Welsh Government for learners in our schools, and particularly those who may face disadvantage, I have to say, I'm extremely disappointed by the timing of this announcement; I think it's a huge discourtesy to the National Assembly, to the Children, Young People and Education Committee and...
Darren Millar: I think that you should've announced this in the Chamber, not to your party members, and I, frankly, am appalled, because this is the sort of behaviour that you would have been the first to shout up and criticise when you were on the opposition benches before you joined this shambolic Government, so I'm very disappointed that you have made the announcement in this way, and I think it shows...
