Laura Anne Jones: Thank you for your statement, Minister. I have three simple questions I'd like answers to. Minister, I understand and appreciate that new extra moneys have been made available to upgrade and expand kitchens, but the timing of the moneys given was of some concern to me. I was just wondering whether all the upgrades in our schools have been able to be made in time for the new term that has...
Laura Anne Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, I stood here back in 2021 when I first came to this Senedd, the last Senedd, and whilst on education committee, I came late to the review, but I listened to the evidence and believed the Government when they said they wanted to change relationships and sexuality education, which was desperately needed, for the better. I relayed my own experience of RSE, which,...
Laura Anne Jones: Minister, I do not marry myself with those comments; I'm talking as a parent myself of a nearly teenager and from what I've heard up and down Wales. Like many parents up and down Wales, I feel tremendously let down so far from what I'm hearing is being delivered on the ground. What is happening, I fear, is having the opposite effect of was intended, and we all wanted the same thing. In fact,...
Laura Anne Jones: Minister, I completely agree with you; we do need it to keep children safe and healthy. What is clear is that Stonewall, a once admired and groundbreaking group, clearly has had a stranglehold on advising this Government, which in itself raises concerns when they deem children as young as three to be able to determine themselves as trans. Many groups have raised concerns that children and...
Laura Anne Jones: I think that's a bit rich, First Minister—you standing there and saying that, with your record on delivery in Wales—[Interruption.]
Laura Anne Jones: First Minister, do you, like me and the rest of my party, welcome the huge energy package that the UK Government have announced that will directly benefit the people, our constituents, of Blaenau Gwent? How are you going to support businesses in their fight for survival over the winter months coming?
Laura Anne Jones: 8. What action is the Welsh Government taking to close the gender gap among higher education students? OQ58490
Laura Anne Jones: First Minister, recently, a report was released in the House of Commons library showing that white, working-class males are least likely to attend university within the UK. After some digging into Welsh figures, I found that the figures show that Wales's gender divide in this regard, on average, is worse than both the UK and English averages. And, within this divide, white students face the...
Laura Anne Jones: Sorry to interrupt you. I just wanted to say, Minister, don't you think that we need to capitalise as much as we can, particularly on major sporting events, by also investing then in grass-roots sporting facilities? Because if we're stimulating all this interest in a sport—for example, football, or whatever it might be—it's a real shame that some people across Wales are unable to take up...
Laura Anne Jones: Business Minister, I too would like to reiterate calls from Jane Dodds earlier and others across parties, across the Chamber, for the Welsh Government to adopt a strong vocal position, even if this comes under the UK Government to take action. I'd also like to request a statement from the education Minister updating the Senedd with a formal announcement of his plans to replace A-levels and...
Laura Anne Jones: The second statement that I'd like to request is on home schooling. As you know, business Minister, three weeks ago, I requested an urgent statement from this Government on proposals for home schooling in Wales. The community are very anxious for answers, so I'd like to press you for a statement sooner rather than later from the education Minister. Lastly, Dirprwy Lywydd, I'd like to ask for...
Laura Anne Jones: What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the differences between the number of degree apprenticeship admissions and university admissions?
Laura Anne Jones: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, I have always been supportive of the idea that sex education needed to be updated in Wales. It was archaic and needed changing, but in the right way. I find the already apparent failures that we're seeing to get RSE right quite upsetting. If things are not adapted, we will miss an opportunity here to genuinely make better sex education for children and young people...
Laura Anne Jones: Minister, let me read you an excerpt from a book—
Laura Anne Jones: Okay. Minister, it's important that everyone be whoever they want to be, and we need to teach understanding and respect for all. But don't you agree with me that what is being taught absolutely needs to be right for that child's age, so they (1) understand the language being used, and (2) are emotionally mature enough to digest the content of it?
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Minister. I was getting on to that; I'm just about to read you an excerpt from a book that is meant to be for five-year-olds. This book, which was recommended, is called Who are you?, Minister, with one quote from it saying: 'When babies are born, people ask if it's a boy or a girl. Babies can't talk, so grown-ups make a guess by looking at their bodies' —for five-year-olds. ...
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Llywydd. Will you now take immediate action to ensure that local authority, school and youth service education resources are age appropriate, and immediately remove those that aren't, and also those that signpost to Mermaids? Will you commit to reviewing materials that are found to be unnecessary for this age group, and ensure that the materials are led by science, as well as...
Laura Anne Jones: 7. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to promote e-cigarettes to smokers? OQ58526
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you, Deputy Minister. On Tuesday of last week, in First Minister's questions, the First Minister said that the evidence is that, for most people who use an e-cigarette, it is as well as and not instead of a conventional cigarette—85 per cent in recent studies show a dual use. That is what he said. My office spoke to ASH Wales soon after, and they are not sure where this figure has...
Laura Anne Jones: Thank you for your statement, Minister. Learning exchange programmes are wonderful opportunities for young people. But putting aside the fact that you've spent millions and millions—£65 million, in fact—reinventing the wheel and creating a scheme that only differs slightly from the UK Government's offer, I do have some practical questions that I'd like to ask. As you've laid out, each...
