Siân Gwenllian: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on the condition of GP facilities in north Wales? OAQ(5)0089(FM)[W]
Siân Gwenllian: There is a critical situation in my constituency, in the Waunfawr surgery, and I’d like to draw your attention to the terrible problems that exist there and ask you to intervene, as this matter has been going on for about 10 years now. The surgery provides excellent care for more than 5,000 patients, but the building is completely inappropriate—there isn’t enough space, patient...
Siân Gwenllian: Access to early education of a high standard is an effective way of closing the attainment gap for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and ensuring the linguistic development of young children. At the moment, children living in permanent poverty in Wales are twice as likely to score lower than the average for their linguistic development at five years old as compared to their better-off...
Siân Gwenllian: There is serious concern amongst adults learning Welsh throughout the country because of the new system, which has led to a loss of jobs amongst local tutors. Already, a significant number of experienced staff have been made redundant in Swansea, and a further number are facing job losses in north-east Wales and in Ceredigion. There is great uncertainty in the field after the Government...
Siân Gwenllian: The ambition of the Welsh Government of 1 million Welsh speakers is to be welcomed, and I’m pleased to see you confirming this once again today. However, the Government still hasn’t explained how it wishes to increase the number of Welsh speakers from something over 0.5 million in 2011 to 1 million by 2050. Now, I see that you will announce yet another consultation on a new strategy, and...
Siân Gwenllian: 6. What is the Welsh Government’s long term strategy for training doctors in north Wales? OAQ(5)0026(HWS)W
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. Almost half of all the doctors on the Llŷn peninsula are over 55 years old, and a large number of them are expected to retire over the next five years, which will lead to a real crisis in the area. There is some evidence that doctors tend to remain where they were trained. So, in order to tackle this shortage of doctors there is a strong argument, as you have mentioned,...
Siân Gwenllian: There is a need to increase the housing supply in Wales, of course, but those houses have to be the right type of houses and they have to be in the right location in order to meet the true needs of the people of Wales. In your statement on the planning Act in July of this year, you stated that ‘The preparation of Strategic Development Plans should be given high priority by Local Planning...
Siân Gwenllian: It’s entirely apparent from all the contributions in the Chamber today that we need a strategy as a matter of urgency to train more doctors in Wales. I will make a case that this strategy will have to be one that is pan Wales. We do have two medical schools—one in Swansea and one in Cardiff—but we have nothing whatsoever in north Wales or in mid Wales. If we are going to start to fill...
Siân Gwenllian: 4. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government’s efforts to ensure that local authorities reach their targets? OAQ(5)0022(FLG)[W]
Siân Gwenllian: I would like to quote as an example a particular Welsh Government strategy, namely the aim of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050. In a written response to a written question, the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language, on a question on the contribution of local authorities to the target in terms of Welsh-medium education, the answer received was that local authorities didn’t have...
Siân Gwenllian: Okay. If you compare that with Plaid Cymru councils, they are performing extremely well. How will you ensure, therefore, that local authorities—and particularly local authorities run by your own party—do take action in order to achieve this vision of 1 million Welsh speakers in the field of education?
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. I’m going to refer to point 3 in the motion, which is on the importance of the education system in its entirety to reach the Welsh Government’s target of a million Welsh speakers. I’m going to discuss Welsh-medium education, rather than the Welsh second language qualification as such. I do note that the Welsh Government, in the ongoing consultation on increasing the...
Siân Gwenllian: Overseas students make a direct contribution, a valuable contribution, to our universities and the economy. For every five European Union students that come to Wales, one job is created and £200 million comes in payments from international students to universities in Wales. Bangor University in my constituency is collaborating with 100 partners in 20 countries in Europe, and with many other...
Siân Gwenllian: Will the First Minister make a statement on restructuring local health services in north Wales?
Siân Gwenllian: 7. Will the Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government’s progress in implementing the recommendations of Professor Sioned Davies’s report on learning Welsh? OAQ(5)0023(EDU)[W]
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you. Last week, you said, as you’ve repeated today, that Welsh as a second language would not be taught as part of the new curriculum by 2021, and, to replace it, there would be one continuum of Welsh language learning for every pupil. But I’m still not clear about the changes to the qualifications. Can you confirm what was said in the press following the interview on ‘Newyddion...
Siân Gwenllian: In a committee meeting on 13 July, the Cabinet Secretary for Education made it clear, in response to a question from the Plaid Cymru education spokesperson, that you’re going to look at the possibility of expanding the remit of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to include further education. Please could you provide us with an update about the progress since that meeting, because it would go...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much for the statement. I must congratulate you for all the work that has taken place with stakeholders, the trade unions, the council leaders and with councillors the length and breadth of Wales in order to gather their views on the future of local government in Wales. But, primarily, may I also thank you and congratulate you on introducing a version—a weak version perhaps,...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I move the motion in the name of Plaid Cymru. Plaid Cymru wants to regain pride in our towns and to tackle the decline that many of them have faced and are facing. These days, a number of our town centres are half empty and are full of shops with boarded-up windows. In such an environment, it’s not surprising that many people choose to go to out-of-town...
