Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I'm not going to be drawn into discussing fiscal policy. I will confine myself to the tourism implications of international changes, and I think it is essential that we do market Wales, in terms of the offer, to every segment of the market. It is not just a cheap holiday. It's not just an expensive holiday. It's an appropriate choice for people of different levels of income so that they can...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Thank you very much, Jayne. Making our communities more active continues to be a priority area and, indeed, is a responsibility for me as a champion for physical activity on behalf of the Welsh Government. Last year through Sport Wales we invested over £10.9 million in local authorities across Wales to support the development of community sport and active recreation and helping to meet local...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Thank you for that supplementary. I have, indeed, joined a number of walking groups recently. I think the Treorchy strollers was the last one. Of course, it combines physical activity in a beautiful, natural environment—and as someone who walked the Gwent levels only the other Sunday, I know how important the environment in Newport is. So, at the risk of inviting myself everywhere, I will...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Well, as the Assembly Member for Bala—although not a regular supporter of Bala Town, except on occasion—Bala Town have had their moment in Europe, as have Bangor City and others. But it is a great opportunity for Cardiff Met, and I do sincerely congratulate them. I benefit from living close to them when I'm here in Cardiff, and I do think it's important that we emphasise how the activity...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Thank you for that. I'm very happy to formally agree that we should meet to discuss this issue specifically, but I'm pleased to say that, among the major sports that we promote, netball, which is an activity mainly, but not wholly, pursued by girls and women, is the fourth major sport that we fund. And, therefore, I think it is essential that we should always provide for gender equality to...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: The Welsh Government recognises cultural engagement impacts positively on well-being and seeks to increase the availability of the cultural offering through various means, including supporting engagement with communities locally and on the heritage and culture that are important to activity in the region.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: The intention is that there should be a strong sporting museum in Wrexham. The question of its location is a matter for discussion with the existing Wrexham museum and the Wrexham local authority. Those discussions are still continuing. What I'm keen to ensure is that the sporting activity of Wales is represented in the regions of Wales. So, in north Wales, it would be in Wrexham. There is, I...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: The valleys of south east Wales are an excellent example of a landscape and way of life created and shaped to the needs of industry. Wales is enormously proud of its mining heritage and through its capital and revenue grant, Welsh Government continues to support and promote this heritage.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Thank you for that question. The financial settlement for 2015 was agreed between the UK Government and the BBC, and that included bringing an end to the funding for the concession for those over 75 years of age, without any consultation or any scrutiny by the UK Parliament or this Parliament or the devolved administrations. The decision will impact on the most vulnerable and isolated people...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I must say that I do agree with the Member's comments, and that the pressure that has been placed on the BBC and the position that the BBC has been placed in is entirely unacceptable. Indeed, I would go further and say that it is disrespectful of the stable relationship and the established relationship that has existed in the UK between public broadcasters such as the BBC and Governments of...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I thought I had explained the situation clearly at the outset. Neither I nor anyone else here has the locus to express a view on what the BBC should do, but what has happened here, as I tried to explain, is that the financial settlement was agreed between the Conservative Government of the UK and the BBC. That wasn't a decision that provided an opportunity for any of us in this place or in...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I agree with the spirit behind those comments and I welcome them, but talking plainly here, I don't think that my job as one of the Ministers of Wales is to lobby Westminster. My job is to show their hypocrisy, and to say that their behaviour is completely unacceptable and unjust to older people in Wales and in the rest of the United Kingdom. The way that they have accepted and...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I'm not sure if I'm to take those questions as a serious contribution on this issue, because I thought I'd made it entirely clear at the very outset that this was a discussion between the BBC at a corporate level, the board of the BBC centrally, and the UK Government, and therefore that we, and certainly I, as Minister with an overview of broadcasting, didn't have any opportunity to express a...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I will seek to focus on those sections that we have responded to a little negatively according to the views of some of those who’ve participated in this debate. But before doing so, I would like to refer to two specific points. First of all, that we are looking at the whole question of the fitness and health of pupils in a holistic and...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Thank you very much for telling me about Ringland Primary, and I certainly congratulate them, because this, to me, is the way that we must move. We must move holistically and on the basis of community and the school community itself, and the wider community.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Another thing that's important to note, I think, is that we have made progress in implementing in partnership with other bodies in order to focus on the issue of health, which is so centrally important to us as a nation, as has been stated in the debate. We have done that by bringing the organisations working on this together, namely the health promotion body, Sport Wales, as well as NRW, who...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Yes.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Well, this is the whole point about shifting away from the traditional notions of physical activity and physical education as taught. It's an attempt to make physical activity attractive through interaction with those who have been successful in that field. It's not a matter of saying that we expect everyone to pursue elite sport, but we do expect everyone to pursue physical activity to their...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: If I could also mention the criticism made on the recommendations rejected, and to make it entirely clear that the reason that we have rejected these recommendations is because we believe that the way that we operate at the moment deals with what's covered within those recommendations? For example, I believe that there is a misunderstanding here about the nature of the changes to the...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Well, what we've moved away from as Government now is the concept that a national curriculum should be imposed on schools, rather that the educational experience that is enjoyed within schools should develop within those schools, and we are seeking to place all of this in the context of the policies that have been developed across Government. For example, the 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales'...
