Alun Davies: I will say to you—I don’t disagree with the fundamentals of his point—but I will say to him that those matters are rightly matters for the National Assembly and not for Government. It is absolutely fundamental to me that the division between the Executive and the legislature is respected and that the legislature itself determines how it operates rather than suggestions from myself,...
Alun Davies: I look forward to hearing what Members have to say. I look forward to listening to what Members have to say and I will ensure that the debate this afternoon is brought to the attention of the Secretary of State and others considering these matters. I hope that Members will continue to contribute in the way that they have done over recent months to ensure that we are, as an institution here,...
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I’d like to thank all Members who’ve taken part in the debate this afternoon, especially those Members who had kind and generous words to say. Can I say, following on directly from what Rhun ap Iorwerth had to say, I think he’s absolutely right in the approach that this place has to take to our responsibilities and to some of those new...
Alun Davies: Welsh will remain compulsory to age 16, and the new curriculum will include a language continuum for Welsh from 2021. We have piloted expanding Welsh in other subject areas, and remain focused on increasing our young people’s communication skills. We are also increasing support on Welsh to teachers and schools.
Alun Davies: I know that many people regretted the words that I used. I personally was surprised at that too, because I wasn’t changing policy; I was reiterating current policy. We are at present in a transition period from where we were when Professor Sioned Davies published her report up until the introduction of the new curriculum in 2021. The second language Welsh qualification will be replaced in...
Alun Davies: I’m very happy to continue the discussion on that if the Member has some suggestions that she’d like to make. But may I say this? There has been a great deal of discussion as to where we are at present since Professor Sioned Davies’s report was published. There will be fundamental changes introduced over the next few years, and therefore there won’t be a lost period, as some have...
Alun Davies: All providers of vocational courses are required to promote and develop their Welsh-medium and bilingual provision. Welsh Government requires all work-based learning providers and further education colleges to increase the number of learners who use Welsh within their learning and provide opportunities for learners to develop their Welsh language skills.
Alun Davies: It may be useful if you were to write to me with the detail of the very incident that you’ve described this afternoon, but may I say in general terms, rather than addressing the example that you gave, that I would expect any institution in receipt of funding from Welsh Government to implement their language policy? When we’re talking about the private sector and private businesses, of...
Alun Davies: Rwy’n credu bod yr Ysgrifennydd yn glir amboutu ei gweledigaeth hi. Mae hi yn y Siambr ac yn gwrando ar eich geiriau nawr. Mi wnaeth yr Ysgrifennydd Addysg a’r Prif Weinidog wneud datganiad o’r fath yn ystod yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol. Rydym ni fel tîm o Weinidogion wedi bod yn trafod hyn ers hynny. Rwy’n gwybod bod yr Ysgrifennydd addysg ar fin gwneud datganiad.
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. It's a pleasure to lead this discussion this afternoon on the commissioner's annual report. I want to start, of course, by thanking Meri and her team for the very hard work that they’ve done over the past year in leading on this work. Very often, the Welsh Language Commissioner’s role is a thankless one, and I'm very eager that Members this...
Alun Davies: I have been hoping to do better next year for most of my life, but I am very pleased that we have struck a note of agreement late on this Tuesday afternoon as we discuss this report. I do welcome and am grateful to all Members who have contributed to this debate. As we’ve seen on a number of occasions in the past, this debate has come to an agreement on the principle but has also shown us a...
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. When I launched the ministerial taskforce for the south Wales Valleys in a statement to the National Assembly in July, I committed to updating Members about its progress. The taskforce has held its first meeting, meeting local stakeholders and receiving presentations on a range of issues. The second meeting later this month will have a specific...
Alun Davies: I think Members across the Chamber enjoy the regular lectures we have from the Conservative Party on the difficulties facing Valleys communities, much of which, of course, are the direct consequence of the policies of a Conservative Government. If you take, for example, the welfare reform programme that is currently going through the United Kingdom Parliament, you will see that the...
Alun Davies: I agree very much with many of the points made by Bethan Jenkins, and I understand the sincerity of the way that she’s expressed those points. Let me say this: it is my absolute determination that this taskforce will not be simply a talking shop, and will not provide the commentary from the sidelines that she’s described. Clearly, in establishing a body there are a number of conversations...
Alun Davies: I’m not sure whether I should be grateful for those comments or not. Let me say this: UKIP has a rather curious track record in these things, where the voting record of its elected Members doesn’t always match the rhetoric employed at different occasions. The leader of UKIP in this place never stops reminding us that he was proud to vote for the 1981 budget that led to extraordinary...
Alun Davies: I think it’s very important that we ensure that people across the whole of the Valleys feel that this is a structure that speaks for them and on behalf of them. I think sometimes there is a danger that we will focus in on the central Valleys of Glamorganshire and the eastern Valleys of Gwent. I think it is important that the western Valleys of Carmarthenshire and of Glamorgan that you...
Alun Davies: I’m sure that kind invitation has been heard by the Member. Can I say that the Member for Caerphilly makes some very, very important points about the nature of the Valleys as well? One thing that unites all of us, in our different ways, from the Valleys of south Wales is that we have an acute sense of place, and the place is important to us. How we look out on the world is determined by the...
Alun Davies: We need to see a significant increase in the number of children and young people in Welsh-medium education if we are to achieve our ambitious target of a million speakers by 2050. The final version of the Welsh language strategy will include targets to measure outcomes and delivery.
Alun Davies: I will maintain the spirit of agreement this afternoon by agreeing with the analysis in the question. It is important that we have targets that are reachable and which also allow us to reach our broader target on an all-Wales basis. I expect local authority WESPs to be presented by December this year, and those plans will show how local authorities expect to reach their targets during the...
Alun Davies: Yes, absolutely. I think Members across the Chamber will want to join together in welcoming the developments that we’re seeing, and developments in a constituency are certainly to be welcomed, as they are elsewhere. But, enabling children and young people to attend these educational institutions is absolutely essential. There’s no point opening doors if the students can’t reach there....
