Llyr Gruffydd: 'I am therefore unconvinced that this investment is evidence-based or well-targeted…I do not believe that the policy behind this Bill shows that the scheme will be suitable for the long-term.' Now, those are the children's commissioner's views. Do you know, by the way, that couples who earn up to £199,000 a year will be eligible for the free childcare offer? Now, the Government tells us...
Llyr Gruffydd: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on procurement in the public sector?
Llyr Gruffydd: 9. How will the First Minister ensure that workers have a strong voice in any discussions relating to public service reorganisation? OAQ52253
Llyr Gruffydd: I've raised concerns on the privatisation of dialysis services with you previously, and that, of course, includes the possibility of staff moving from the national health service to the private sector to work, something that they have been entirely clear in their opposition to. Now, major questions have been raised by these staff on the process that has been undertaken in the Betsi Cadwaladr...
Llyr Gruffydd: 'It's a disgraceful way for a responsible employer to conduct itself in such a process.'
Llyr Gruffydd: —say the workers.
Llyr Gruffydd: 'The staff feel that, throughout this process, the communication has been poor and not undertaken in a timely manner, effectively preventing union representation and causing serious distress and worry to all staff concerned. The staff therefore request that you investigate and remedy deficiencies in the processes that have been highlighted to you.' Now, Betsi Cadwaladr, of course, is under...
Llyr Gruffydd: Many of us will have been shocked by the statistics published last week that over 77,000 work days had been lost in the Betsi Cadwaladr health board because of stress and anxiety amongst staff. Now, not only has that cost almost £5.5 million to the board, but it represents an increase of 17 per cent in absences in just six years. This board, as I mentioned earlier, is under the direct...
Llyr Gruffydd: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary as well for her statement this afternoon, and reiterate the thanks to Ann Keane and others who brought us to this point and, of course, extend our best wishes to those who are now charged with moving this work forward over the coming period? As you say, leadership has been recognised as one of the weaker aspects of the Welsh education system for several...
Llyr Gruffydd: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for your statement and also thank Professor Renold and the expert panel for their work, and all of those who contributed to the report and its recommendations? I disagree with Darren Millar. It isn't a decent report; I think it's an excellent report, and I think it's exactly the kind of report that Cabinet Secretaries should expect from these kinds of expert...
Llyr Gruffydd: Diolch yn fawr. Does the Cabinet Secretary accept that school funding in Wales has reached crisis point?
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, I didn't expect you not to recognise as much, to be honest, but the front line is now saying quite clearly that there is a crisis and that we have reached that crisis point. It's leading to increased class sizes, which I know is something that you don't wish to see. It's led to an over-reliance on teaching assistants, who very often aren't properly paid. It's having a detrimental...
Llyr Gruffydd: But the funding picture is a rather discombobulated one, isn't it, when you look at, for example, the way the Government funds education. Some money goes to consortia and some money goes to local authorities—some of that goes to local authorities through the RSG, some of it goes to local authorities through grants, some goes straight to schools and, of course, we have 22 local authorities...
Llyr Gruffydd: 5. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on capital expenditure on schools in the next financial year? OAQ52238
Llyr Gruffydd: Councillors have contacted me, and they're concerned that the councils are only given a month to prepare bids for the capital grant this year, which comes out of the underspend of the previous year, and that those bids have to be on the basis that there is an assurance that they will spend the funding in the current financial year. Now, we've been discussing a shortage of public funding, so...
Llyr Gruffydd: Cabinet Secretary, you just told us that staff and unions are part of negotiations about the future of the service, but I quoted yesterday to the First Minister a letter from staff saying, 'It's a disgraceful way for a responsible employer to conduct itself in such a process.' Because they are aggrieved that they have not had the engagement that you're potraying they are having. They say...
Llyr Gruffydd: May I thank the Llywydd for her statement? Clearly, we warmly welcome the fact that this youth parliament is about to come into existence and we will do everything we can to support the efforts to facilitate that and to ensure that it does happen, because this does need to be a tool to empower young people in Wales, as I’m sure it will, and many of us have argued that we do need to empower...
Llyr Gruffydd: I’m going to pursue a similar course in terms of this tension, and that was essentially what we were dealing with in this report—this tension between how you focus resources in order to have the best possible impact. We’re seeing this not only in Flying Start, but in other programmes. Do you restrict support to certain geographical areas or do you target a certain demographic or a group...
Llyr Gruffydd: 6. What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the impact that the closure of the Arla milk processing factory will have on the local economy in Llandyrnog? OAQ52270
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for that response. Of course, I’ve looked back at the 'Prosperity for All' action plan that you have, and that talks about foundation sectors. Food is one of those, and you mentioned that you’re working across the Government to have the greatest possible impact in that particular sector. Now, we know how crucial milk processing is. Andy Richardson said in a report four years...
