Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much, and I move those amendments. Thank you very much for the opportunity to discuss the findings of the Estyn report for 2017-18. The situation in our secondary schools is a cause of great concern, with pupils in half of our secondary schools, so, around 100 schools, being let down. That is, the children aren't reaching their full potential by the time they leave school. Now,...
Siân Gwenllian: How does the Welsh Government prevent loss of revenue from the transfer of second homes from the council tax regime to the non-domestic tax regime?
Siân Gwenllian: First of all, I would like to praise our teachers and the staff in our schools for their ongoing commitment to the increasingly difficult task of teaching our pupils. They work under very specific limitations in terms of a lack of resource and funding and far too much intervention in their day-to-day activities. The profession is under huge pressure at the moment, and we need to thank them...
Siân Gwenllian: Will the Minister provide an update on the young farmers grant scheme?
Siân Gwenllian: 1. Will the First Minister confirm when, after 1 March 2018, the decision to keep emergency vascular services at Ysbyty Gwynedd was reversed? OAQ53524
Siân Gwenllian: I, today, am discussing the process, not the principle, of removing emergency services from Bangor—but the process itself—and how the decision was reached. In the spring of last year, the health board gave its stamp of approval to retaining emergency services in Bangor, and all the GPs in the area received a letter stating this. The board hasn’t reversed this decision, and in numerous...
Siân Gwenllian: The hypocrisy of the Tories on the issue of funding public services is staggering. Years of austerity, imposed by the Conservatives in Westminster, are bleeding our schools dry and undermining the attainment of our children and young people, but there is no doubt that the Welsh Labour Government need to take action and stop putting their heads in the sand. For example, we need to co-ordinate...
Siân Gwenllian: 2. Will the Minister provide an update on the delivery of the 2018-2019 Action Plan Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers? OAQ53484
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you. I look forward to that update. According to your predecessor, Alun Davies, one of the purposes of the Welsh language Bill was, and I quote, to create an institution of the best possible quality and of international level that would bring together the necessary critical mass of talent and expertise to lead language planning to a new, broader and more sophisticated level. Although...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. It is clear to us in Plaid Cymru that we need more social housing or council houses—whatever we call them, we know what we’re talking about. In my own area, there are 2,000 families on the waiting list in Gwynedd for social housing. My surgeries are full of people living in unacceptable conditions in private rented accommodation that is damp, too small or expensive to...
Siân Gwenllian: That’s one way of dealing with it, and since I’ve raised this issue, I’ve been surprised by the number of people who have been in touch with me and have proposed various solutions to the problem. You’ve mentioned one—there are other people who have other solutions. So, this is a problem that can be sorted out. What we need is desire in Government to actually tackle the problem....
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you, Llywydd. Headteachers the length and breadth of Wales are warning that there is a funding crisis facing our schools and that this will have far-reaching impacts—larger class sizes, fewer teachers, the condition of buildings deteriorating, reduction in the support for additional learning needs, cuts to pastoral services and well-being services. We are losing hundreds of our most...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much, and I'm very pleased to hear that last announcement. I know that my colleague in Westminster, Ben Lake, has been pursuing this issue, so I'm very grateful to hear that—that'll be good news for our schools. But, to return to direct funding, just to put it on the record, Plaid Cymru is willing to consider any proposals that would deliver better outcomes for our children....
Siân Gwenllian: To help with that discussion, therefore, may I suggest that there are a number of questions that you and the education department within Government could be asking? Are there too many layers in our education system? Do these create unnecessary bureaucracy? Is there too much duplication of work? And is that a good use of the scarce funding in the education pot? For example, are there too many...
Siân Gwenllian: 2. Will the Minister make a statement on Welsh Government efforts to tackle obesity amongst children and young people? OAQ53566
Siân Gwenllian: As you’ll know, one in four children of four and five years of age are either overweight or obese. England and Scotland have set targets to halve obesity among children and young people by 2030. Why doesn’t the Welsh Government have a target? As with tackling poverty, without a target it’s impossible to see how the future should look. There is no clear aim to be delivered and no means...
Siân Gwenllian: 1. Will the First Minister instruct Betsi Cadawladr University Health Board to conduct a new consultation into the future of emergency vascular services in Ysbyty Gwynedd? OAQ53603
Siân Gwenllian: Whilst you were at Buckingham Palace, this place heard that the health board had misled the public on the issue of downgrading the service in Bangor. Since then, a prominent member of the health board has resigned in protest—a very grave step—and yet your Government still doesn’t intend to intervene. Isn’t the truth of the matter that it’s the political agenda of the Labour Party...
Siân Gwenllian: 5. Will the Counsel General provide an update on schemes that are nearing completion and are currently in receipt of EU structural funds? OAQ53617
Siân Gwenllian: There is quite some concern about the future of an innovative project, the Ffarm Moelyci project, in my constituency. The Cwm Harry trust are almost two years into a three-year project, which is led by a German university, as part of the INTERREG programme, which includes 11 partners in five European nations. The project has ordered a large biomass processor and is about to spend tens of...