Tom Giffard: ...Justice's report, 'Universal Basic Income: An Effective Policy for Poverty Reduction', argues that UBI is unaffordable, putting at risk the provision of important services in healthcare and in education, adding that it, quote, 'Doesn’t meet the needs of low income households facing complex problems such as drug addiction, dangerous debt, and family breakdown', and 'Provides a major...
Tom Giffard: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on the schools admission process in South Wales West? OQ56746
Tom Giffard: Thank you, Minister, for that response. I’m sure you’ll agree with me that COVID-19 has brought a significant number of additional challenges on secondary schools, and secondary schools and their staff and pupils have really risen to the challenge. But oversubscription has been an ongoing problem since before the pandemic, and at a time when schools and pupils are under significant...
Tom Giffard: 8. Will the Minister provide an update on the role of regional education consortia? OQ56783
Tom Giffard: Thank you for that answer, Minister. Unfortunately, as you'll be aware, Education through Regional Working, or the ERW regional education consortium, is in a bit of a mess. Senior councillors from member authorities have been scathing in the press about the organisation, with Swansea Labour Councillor Jennifer Rayner describing working with ERW over the last few years as being extremely...
Tom Giffard: ...be more proactive in talking to creative industry stakeholders in establishing more targeted, ambitious goals for this strategy. So, can I ask you, Deputy Minister: how are the sectors working with schools and colleges to encourage young people to seriously explore the creative industries as a future career option? And how can we improve collaboration between this sector and higher and...
Tom Giffard: ...mentioned about how we need more pathways into the profession. People with—. Not just—sorry, I can't remember who said it now—people who have left university only to return to teach in the school that they themselves learnt in, but people with life experience from other walks of life, and that's really important too. So, those are some of the things our motion today is looking to...
Tom Giffard: Diolch, Cadeirydd. Each year, every first Thursday of November is the International Day Against Violence and Bullying at School, including cyber bullying. Around 20 per cent of students report being bullied, but only half have reported incidents to an adult. Formal education can and should play a key role in providing children and young people with the knowledge and skills to identify online...
Tom Giffard: ...sectors. In the Welsh Government review into gender equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, we saw that of those work-based placements in the STEM sector registered with the Education Workforce Council just 22 per cent of those placements were occupied by women. The review also stated that Wales also had the lowest percentage of women enrolling onto higher education...
Tom Giffard: ...during my recent stay in hospital. It meant a lot to me, and it's very good to be back today. It's also good to be back participating in a Welsh Conservative debate today on the impact of COVID on education. Parents, pupils and, in particular, teaching staff have really risen to the challenge of working differently and competing with ever-changing rules and regulations to meet that...
Tom Giffard: ...on making our national day a bank holiday. On that point—and I really didn't want to make a party political point today, but I felt I had to respond—I was really disappointed to see the education Minister yesterday in the media say that the Welsh Government had a long-standing campaign and that he was delighted to see the Welsh Conservatives lend their support. I remind the...
Tom Giffard: ...30 years old, surprisingly. [Laughter.] I've lived in Wales all my life. I went to university in Swansea and I have a lot of friends in the local area, and when thinking about the people I went to school or university with that are my age, I can only think of a handful that own their home. It's a sad indictment of where we are as a society in Wales at the moment that that dream, or even...
Tom Giffard: ...skills and recruitment campaign to support the sector by raising awareness of the high numbers of vacancies and of the variety of career opportunities available. The campaign targets young people, school leavers, students, those unsure about their future career, or young adults who might be looking for flexible working around, for example, childcare, and other older adults looking for...
Tom Giffard: One in five on a waiting list in Wales; more than 10,000 people waiting 12 hours in A&E; our education system failing children, with Programme for International Student Assessment rankings at the bottom of the UK league table; a tourism tax on the horizon, penalising businesses after they've suffered tremendous losses over the last four years; the latest Office for National Statistics's...
Tom Giffard: Minister, we're only too aware of the pressures facing our schools, thanks to the crisis in the cost of living at the moment, and a recent survey by NASUWT found that teachers are providing money, food and clothing to help children and families with cost-of-living pressures. It also said that nearly seven in 10 teachers saw that more of their pupils were lacking in energy and in concentration...
Tom Giffard: ...of all that we do, and yet, since 2011, we've seen 7,000 more pupils enter the classroom and 4,000 fewer teachers to teach them. And that teacher shortage is even more stark in the Welsh language education sector. And while that's in no way a reflection on the dedication and hard work of the profession that we've seen over that time, by consistently failing to recruit enough teachers in...
Tom Giffard: ...measured, and is there a target here in terms of visitor levels to the area? Given the site’s history, how will the money for community engagement be spent to ensure that families, visitors and schools understand the cultural significance of north-west Wales?
Tom Giffard: Minister, I think it's important that we stress here that this was due to be a twenty-first century state-of-the-art school with local facilities for children with additional learning needs and a new pool as well, which is much needed in the community. But what must be made clear is the fact that local authorities perhaps need clearer guidance when consulting on issues such as these. This...
Tom Giffard: ...funding ones instead. This would support success in UK-wide funding competitions and attract high levels of business investment. But this recommendation has still not been implemented. The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales administers infrastructure funding to universities on behalf of the Welsh Government. Their budget for 2022-23 was £81.7 million. Pro rata, if Welsh...
Tom Giffard: How does the Welsh Government ensure that children from poorer backgrounds reach their potential in the Welsh education system?
