David Rowlands: Yes, of course.
David Rowlands: Absolutely. This was all about your abilities, and taking each and every pupil by his distinct abilities. The advent, unfortunately, of comprehensive schools with as many as 1,500 pupils has seen an abandonment of those pupils who are given practical skills rather than academic. Apart from an over-concentration of IT education, practical subjects have all but disappeared from the school...
David Rowlands: Will you take an intervention?
David Rowlands: Will the Member give way?
David Rowlands: Thank you. If the comprehensive system has been so wonderful, and has worked so well, why are we now talking—? Every time I hear anybody talking about education in this Chamber, it’s to change things, to alter things; that things have to be done better. Why is it now, after 50 years of the comprehensive system, you are suddenly waking up to the fact that vocational and academic...
David Rowlands: Given this commitment to 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, and a universal acknowledgement that bilingualism is best achieved by immersing children in a second language as early as possible, what arrangements have been made by the Government to implement Welsh learning in preschool classrooms?
David Rowlands: Diolch, Lywydd. Will the Cabinet Secretary update us on the latest position with regard to the Circuit of Wales project?
David Rowlands: Okay. I understand that a petition has been handed to the Secretary from local constituents demanding some movement by the Government. Can the Cabinet Secretary comment on this?
David Rowlands: Given that his hugely exciting project was first promulgated some eight years ago, does the Cabinet Secretary not agree with me that constituents across the whole of the Heads of the Valleys region are fully justified in venting their frustration, given that far from the construction actually commencing, a final decision on the go-ahead for this project has still yet to made?
David Rowlands: Would you take an intervention?
David Rowlands: Thank you, madam Deputy Presiding Officer. I move this motion in the name of Neil Hamilton. We move the motion that HS2 is abandoned and the resulting savings used to upgrade the existing network throughout the whole of the UK, including those in Wales. We argue that it is not too late to end this potentially disastrous project as although £2 billion has already been spent, not one spade of...
David Rowlands: The very fact that HS2 is designed to run at 240 mph rather than run, like the usual continental high-speed trains, at 190 mph is in itself damaging to the environment, in that it increases carbon emissions by over 20 per cent, whilst reducing the time between London and Birmingham by a mere three and a half minutes. The National Audit Office has itself criticised the scheme, arguing that...
David Rowlands: Yes, of course, Lee.
David Rowlands: Well, Lee, I don’t know if you’ve noticed the plans for this railway line, but it actually runs in England, not in Wales. [Interruption.] I shall come to the point of how it will affect Wales if you’d just give me the time to get there. Thank you. There are also many who argue that much better connectivity is best achieved by upgrading existing lines and building a number of new...
David Rowlands: Yes, thank you. Thank you all for your contributions to this debate. I’ll deal with Russell George where he said that we fail to recognise the benefits. But most economic experts say there will be no benefits to the Welsh economy if HS2 is to be built. And then Mark Isherwood went on to talk about this fanciful document, where the UK Government will be making absolutely certain that they...
David Rowlands: Ken Skates—I’ll deal with what Ken had to say. Ken, I echo all of your desires to upgrade the transport system in Wales, and it is precisely this argument that we are putting today: that the funding of this HS2 project will massively impact on the ability of you yourself, using all your skills, which I’m sure you will, in receiving as much funding for the necessary upgrading that we...
David Rowlands: I will try to make my comments a little more succinct, I promise. First of all, Cabinet Minister, I would like to thank you for your comprehensive statement this afternoon. First, can I sincerely congratulate the Welsh Government, on behalf of my party, for their extraordinary achievements over the last three years in making Wales the best-performing country in the UK, after England, at...
David Rowlands: Thank you. Yes, very, very quickly, I understand that some local authorities appear to delay diagnosis of autism because, once a person reaches the age of 18, they no longer have responsibility for that person. Surely an Act could lay down time limits on local authorities to instigate diagnosis.
David Rowlands: A simple question, First Minister: when will the construction phase actually begin?
David Rowlands: Cabinet Secretary, UKIP welcomes the fact that there are four bidders competing for the rail franchise. Does the Cabinet Secretary not agree that competition is healthy and should result in the best possible deal for Wales?
