David Rees: Cabinet Secretary, I join you in expressing concerns that health and safety is a priority and we must ensure that everything is done to ensure the safety of our workers, particularly 15 years after the horrific accident that occurred in blast furnace No. 5. But, do you join me in congratulating the actual workforce? Because the result of taking on new employees—and they are going to be Tata...
David Rees: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement this afternoon and also for the work done by Sir Ian Diamond and his team and put that on the record? It’s clearly important that we address the issues for higher education and support for those students. Can I also put on record once again my thanks to her predecessor, Huw Lewis, who initiated all this and basically saw this start to come...
David Rees: 8. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact that the apprenticeship levy will have on the block grant? OAQ(5)0058(FLG)
David Rees: What action is the Welsh Government taking to support home owners in Wales who are facing problems as a result of energy saving schemes?
David Rees: Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. It is worrying to see that, in fact, what we are getting from the UK central Government is being taken away in another part, but also we are funding our public bodies and they have to put that money back to the Treasury under the apprenticeship levy. Can you give guarantees that the money will be used for apprenticeships? There are many bodies...
David Rees: Will you take an intervention on that?
David Rees: I thank the Member for taking an intervention. Do you share the concerns, then, I have that the report today from Cancer Research UK highlights the possible chaos that’s going to happen in diagnostics and pathology within the NHS, because they see the numbers increasing but the actual section decreasing?
David Rees: ‘It’s cancer’—probably some of the most dreaded words that people hear when they visit their consultant or their GP after investigations have taken place. Upon hearing those words, patients face a challenging time. It’s important that we do as much as we can to reassure them and ensure that the care that they will have will have a structure, an agreed plan and will be of the highest...
David Rees: First Minister, on many occasions in this Chamber we have heard about the question of relief on plant and machinery in business rates, particularly in areas such as Tata Steel, where we had the blast furnace. Has your Government actually given any further consideration to looking at relief for plant and machinery in the business rates, to ensure that investment can come in to industries, such...
David Rees: I’d like to ask the leader of the house for a statement relating to the steel industry. I’ve been pre-empted a little bit by the statement, which I saw when I sat down this afternoon, but over the last couple of weeks, we’ve actually seen some progress in relation to, perhaps, moving forward in the steel industry. Only this weekend, we saw the news that it’s likely that Tata Steel are...
David Rees: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that set of answers, because I think it’s important that the steelworkers and people in my community understand the strong position the Welsh Government is taking on this position? Since the start of 2016, we’ve heard very bad news. It started with job losses, then the possible closures. Steelworkers in Port Talbot, their families and their whole...
David Rees: Can I join you in welcoming this news today? Because, having spoken to the unions this afternoon, it’s clear that there are still some serious concerns amongst the unions regarding some of these proposals, particularly in relation to the pension scheme and the longer term aspects, but do you also agree with me now that this has to be supported by Welsh Government and UK Government...
David Rees: Will the Minister provide details of the Welsh Government's actions to tackle child poverty in Aberavon?
David Rees: Can I start by saying education clearly is one of the most important gifts we can give to our children? As such, we must give it in the right manner and ensure it gets there well. The Programme of International Student Assessment—as Darren said, the long term for the short PISA, as we always know it—provides us with a comparator for student performance in reading, maths and science, but...
David Rees: I think the reflection and consideration that was taken by Donaldson—. I think it’s important that we, when we discussed it—I did say in the discussion we’ve had that most people actually accepted that Donaldson was the way forward at the time. I want to see us go forward. I’m conscious of the time, Llywydd, so to finish: we have a clear direction of travel, with an emphasis on...
David Rees: I do appreciate you giving the time. Do you therefore recognise that the introduction of a Master’s in professional practice for teachers by the Welsh Government is the right step forward to ensure that the qualifications at the levels you’re talking about are actually there?
David Rees: Cabinet Secretary, will you give way?
David Rees: I thank you for taking the intervention. Will you also focus science on the primary school sector, because if the enthusiasm that children get at that age to take it on to the next sector is important, we need to enthuse our teachers about science?
David Rees: 1. Will the First Minister outline his proposals for supporting economic growth during 2017 in South Wales West? OAQ(5)0350(FM)
David Rees: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. As you’re aware, steel making is a critical element of the economy in South Wales West and is the heart of the economy in Aberavon. The challenges that the industry faced in the last year have eased, but they’ve not gone away. Now, I applaud the Welsh Government in honouring its commitment to supporting the industry, with financial support of up...
