Luke Fletcher: How is the Welsh Government ensuring that every child in Wales has the right to access Welsh-medium education?
Luke Fletcher: 5. How does the Welsh Government protect the right of every child in Wales to access Welsh-medium education? OQ56659
Luke Fletcher: ...attention to Bridgend county for a second? Several families in my home town of Pencoed face a situation now where they won't, perhaps, be able to send their children to the closest Welsh-medium school. Instead, they'll have to choose between sending their children even further away to have their education, or choose English-medium education. Unfortunately, the record of the council on...
Luke Fletcher: The main objective of the 2050 strategy is to ensure more use of the Welsh language and a significant way of doing that is through education. However, many families in Pencoed are waiting to hear the results of an appeal, to see if their children will be able to Ysgol Bro Ogwr in September. If the appeal fails then these families will have to choose between sending their children further away...
Luke Fletcher: ...families struggling to put food on the table is a failure. It's a failure of Government and it's a failure of societal and economic systems. Many years ago, I was one of those kids. I was on free school meals for some time. My experiences have led me to the conclusion that free school meals ultimately should be universal. Aside from the clear effect that free school meals has on poverty...
Luke Fletcher: ..., and it must mitigate the worst effects of the cut to universal credit by maintaining flexibility around the discretionary assistance fund while employing other measures, such as extending free school meals eligibility. Like my friend Sioned Williams, I too have only been a Member of the Senedd for four months, and I've heard enough about reviews to last me a lifetime. People need help...
Luke Fletcher: ..., in Caerau, a community that has consistently ranked highly in the index of deprivation, and often in the top five in Wales, there are pupils who face a walk of 45 minutes to an hour to get to school, and scenarios like this are being repeated elsewhere in Swansea and Port Talbot. Does the Welsh Government believe that removing school transport for some of the most disadvantaged...
Luke Fletcher: ...recommendations in both the Diamond and Reid reviews, sooner rather than later, in particular: to maintain quality-related research funding; to preserve academic autonomy; to increase the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales’s innovation and engagement to £25 million—as it currently stands, it’s at £15 million; to create a £30 million future of Wales fund, rewarding...
Luke Fletcher: ...in this field, committed in our manifesto in the last election to establishing a pilot project to test the feasibility of tracking and keeping in touch with young people who leave Wales for higher education or initial employment to ensure that they are kept abreast with ongoing opportunities at home and to create a database of diaspora talent. Would the Minister commit to implementing this...
Luke Fletcher: ...2006. And finally, Dirprwy Lywydd, the gender pay gap is also of concern in the foundational economy, as the largest gender pay gap is seen in the energy industry and is also very substantial in education, health and non-residential social care. There is a notable gap in gross weekly earnings between women and men in all foundational economy sectors, which worsens as pay increases. Chwarae...
Luke Fletcher: ..., how will the Welsh Government be working with businesses involved in the young person's guarantee to ensure young women are being offered opportunities with equal pay, and how will training and education in the guarantee support women to enter high-paying sectors where they are currently under-represented?
Luke Fletcher: ...a quarter of people in Wales are in poverty, it is no surprise that food insecurity is a prominent issue facing many households in Wales. There are, of course, positive actions on the horizon: free school meals for all primary school children, for example, something that, as a former recipient of free school meals, I'm immensely proud of. Knowing that, soon enough, every primary school...
Luke Fletcher: 8. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the education maintenance allowance? OQ57390
Luke Fletcher: .... If I could turn the First Minister's attention to Bridgend College, for just a moment, to illustrate a further point, in Bridgend College they usually have between 700 and 800 full-time further education learners who claim EMA. However, there are concerns that there are many more students who need access. As we know, EMA is means-tested, and many have raised with me that the forms are...
Luke Fletcher: Firstly, as Members are aware, I'm extremely proud of what the co-operation agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government seeks to achieve, especially when it comes to free school meals. Extending free school meals to all primary school pupils is the first step to achieving universal free school meals, and that will go a long way to ensuring that kids from all backgrounds are...
Luke Fletcher: Further to the First Minister's answer to me on the topic of tackling poverty and the role the education maintenance allowance can play, on 14 December, I noted that he estimated that the total cost of increasing EMA payments to £45, as well as increasing the threshold to make it easier for people to access, would cost roughly £10 million. Of course, I recognise the constraints on Welsh...
Luke Fletcher: I have a few points to make. Firstly, the co-operation agreement and what it sets out to achieve is something that I am actually quite proud of, especially when it comes to free school meals. And it has to be said, to say that the budget doesn't deliver at all for people in Wales is quite out of touch. Is it perfect? No. But, take it from somebody who was on free school meals, that policy...
Luke Fletcher: ...contracts and job insecurity. Promoting fair work is great, but I would like the Minister to drill down a bit and outline how fair work will be guaranteed, including job security, opportunity for education and training and staff consultation and representation. How exactly will these be guaranteed? On the green economy, Russian oil and gas imports have not currently been fully included...
Luke Fletcher: We've talked in this Chamber about education being an equaliser; with a great education, no matter your background, in theory, you can and will achieve whatever you set your mind to. Now, there's a lot to say on this statement, not least on the specific topic that we're debating today. Schools are assumed to be places of equity, where the potential of all is nurtured equally. And I don't...
Luke Fletcher: ...face particular difficulties in trying to re-enter the labour market, or when now entering for the first time. Within these groups, the impact of poverty, low household income and lower levels of education, as well as other disadvantages, will create further challenges for these individuals. The disproportionate economic effect that the pandemic has had on these communities clearly shows...
