Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Yes, I'm also looking forward to receiving the results of the Brown report. I have written to the regional skills partnerships to ask them specifically: will you consider digital in your next reports? And I'm expecting them to report in their next annual commitment, so that should be published very, very shortly, and I'm expecting to see a change and a response in that. So, that is something...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, of course, we do encourage members of staff working for Welsh Government to learn Welsh, and there are many opportunities for them to do so, but there is an internal report that is being further developed looking at how we as a Government will respond to the requirements of 2050. I met with the Permanent Secretary yesterday to discuss that.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, thank you very much. As I said, I met with the Permanent Secretary to discuss this exact same matter yesterday. Part of what was recommended in the report involves definitions of exactly what is meant by whichever level of Welsh language proficiency we’re talking about, and I think we need to talk about that further. There are ways of doing that. We must get a better understanding of...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, we haven't actually received this paper officially as yet, because it hasn't been signed off by the Permanent Secretary as yet. So, we have to wait until that report is issued, and then we will take the political decision as to whether we wish to continue with that system or whether we want to take it further.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I was pleased that an additional £46 million capital funding was announced this morning to support an array of projects to facilitate the expansion of Welsh-medium education. We were really pleased with the quality of the bids we received, which means that local authorities really have grasped this now and have understood that this is the direction of travel that we'd like to move in.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Mike. I think it's really apposite that you've asked this question this afternoon when we are really moving ahead on this agenda. The fact is that, as a result of that announcement today, we're going to see almost 3,000 new places in Welsh schools, and that is the way I think we're going to start to reach this target that we've set out, which is an ambitious target. There are...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, just to be clear: this money is very, very clearly earmarked. It's ring-fenced. It is specifically for the growth of Welsh language education, so there's no question about it going into any general pots. This has been very, very clearly targeted. That learning pathway—we've made it clear that we want to see schools working together if they are not able to deliver that locally...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, may I say thank you very much, Llyr, for the question? You will be aware that teachers' salaries are currently decided by the Westminster Government, and we'll receive a consequential in order to pay for that, but that isn't happening as far as FE is concerned. As regards the current situation, we’re monitoring the situation regarding the negotiations between the unions and...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, until we’re clear about what the outcome of the discussions will be, it’s very difficult for us to decide what should be included in the budget. But, may I make it quite clear to you that we are aware of the position? The finance Secretary is aware that this might be a matter that we will need to look at. So, I do think that we need to underscore the fact, of course, that we are...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. Obviously, that was discussed at another forum, and I don’t believe that this is the place to discuss the future priorities of the Labour Party. But may I make it quite clear that it is austerity that has led to the cuts that have taken place to date, but that the current Government is completely committed to ensuring that we continue to invest in basic skills and in...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch, Mohammad. The Welsh Government is supporting the development of a skilled workforce, including delivering 100,000 apprenticeships this Assembly term. Our flexible skills programme is supporting businesses across Wales to upskill their workforce, and we're also working with the regional skills partnerships to ensure that skills provision in each region responds to business need.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. You're absolutely right: it was the Welsh Government who commissioned that report by Estyn, of course, because we were concerned that, perhaps, in relation to the higher apprenticeship framework, we weren't getting the kinds of results that we'd hoped for. So, that's why we commissioned the report. We're obviously taking the recommendations in that report very seriously. We are...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you for that. We are all concerned about the lack of women in STEM subjects. We need to increase that and that is why we have a specific programme in order to ensure that we try to get more girls to study these subjects. Many more European funding programmes have received support recently in order to push for girls to go into these subjects. I think that the careers sector is extremely...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: So, we have a very specific and clear programme that the Cabinet Secretary is leading in relation to digital skills in schools. We are also very aware, in terms of the skills in the sector, that we need to move in this area. That's why we have commissioned Professor Brown to look at automation, the impact that automation and digitalisation will have on our economy and how we should best, as...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. In July 2017, the Welsh Government published its strategy for the Welsh language, Cymraeg 2050. The main target of Cymraeg 2050, it’s important to note, is our desire for a million Welsh speakers. But the other point that we had to underline in that process was that we wanted to see people using the Welsh language as well, and to ensure that the Welsh language is at...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. I think—just on that first point, of course, we’re not going to be using machines to try to teach people how to speak Welsh, but I do think it’s important that we do innovate with education through digital and technological means, and I think that there is a possibility to increase educational provision through the medium of Welsh. We’re doing something at the...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, thank you very much, and I’m very pleased that you too acknowledge the excellent work that Canolfan Bedwyr is doing up in Bangor. It genuinely is innovative work that is happening, and it’s important that we share that work and that other people have the opportunity to use that technology. I am pleased that you’ve underlined that what we have here is a more long-term vision and a...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, thank you very much, and I'm glad that you appreciate that the aspirations in the document are good. I think, actually, there's quite a lot of detail in the plan. There is a clear direction of travel. We have had experts advise us on what we should be doing. So, I actually think that what's clear here is that it's not just a plan, it's an action plan—we know exactly where we're...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you. That discussion about open access or having a relationship with a particular software manufacturer is something that is very alive, and something that we are very aware of. We haven't come to a conclusion on that, but we are very clear that that is something that we need to consider very, very carefully. I think, as a principle, if it's the Government sponsoring it we need to think...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Welsh Government is seeking to build an economy that works for everyone. Now, more than ever, we need to ensure that we do all that we can to boost living standards, encourage growth and productivity, and also address deeply ingrained regional economic and social inequalities. The FE sector is at the heart of this agenda, yet over the past five or six...
