Bethan Sayed: As you may have seen over the weekend, Buzzfeed reported that the UK Government was considering abolishing home fee status for EU nationals studying in England post 2021. I understand that the current Welsh Government position protects the current situation up until 2019-20 academic year here in Wales, and we, as a party, would support that. But, just in the interest of continuity and...
Bethan Sayed: Okay, thank you very much for that. And if I could ask for when you think, in your deliberations with the UK Government, you will be able to get that confirmation—from a previous response that you've given, I think it was to the education committee, you said it was because of Treasury rules. So, I'm understanding that that isn't now so much of a challenge for you. And, if that isn't so...
Bethan Sayed: Thank you for that reply, and I'm not asking from a position of hostility, I'm asking from a position of support, because of course we would want to support the Government's stance on this because we acknowledge how important those EU students would be to the Welsh economy, but also to enhance the lives of the students not only from the continent of Europe, but the lives of students who are...
Bethan Sayed: I wanted to thank the Public Accounts Committee for conducting this report. I wanted to participate in this debate in my role as Chair of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee. We first looked into this issue as part of our inquiry into film and major television production in Wales last year, before we passed this issue to the Public Accounts Committee for further scrutiny....
Bethan Sayed: As a republican, I, Bethan Sayed, do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and swear my allegiance to the people of Wales from now until the end of my term of office, that I promise to faithfully discharge the duties of my office to protect and defend the welfare, the best interests and the rights of the people of Wales.
Bethan Sayed: As a republican, I, Bethan Sayed, do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and swear my allegiance to the people of Wales from now until the end of my term of office, that I promise to faithfully discharge the duties of my office to protect and defend the welfare, the best interests and the rights of the people of Wales. This is the first time in this place that I’ve had an opportunity to...
Bethan Sayed: But there are options for those of us who should be able to swear a different oath based on our conscience, but it would require a change to the Government of Wales Act at Westminster. Whilst I don't anticipate this happening tomorrow, if we don't discuss certain issues, then they certainly will never change. It's raising the profile of this issue and kick-starting a lively debate. It's...
Bethan Sayed: 1. Will the Counsel General outline expenditure incurred to date by the Welsh Government’s legal services department into the judicial review of the coroner’s decisions in respect of the inquest into the death of Carl Sargeant? OAQ53900
Bethan Sayed: Thank you very much for that reply, and I'm glad I could get a reply on the floor of the Chamber because I did send a freedom of information request, and at that time I was told, on 1 May, that no information was held and that no budgets were set aside for these specific purposes. So, can I ask if there will be any additional expenditure in this regard and what that would be, and if an...
Bethan Sayed: I received the Armed Forces Covenant annual report for Wales last week, and I do welcome that update. I've recently been working with Care After Combat. I had a meeting with them in my office. They have operations in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend, and they go into prisons and they actually do save millions of pounds to the Welsh Government and the UK Government for the work that...
Bethan Sayed: Will the First Minister outline the current care policies for veterans in Wales?
Bethan Sayed: A couple of weeks ago, there was a trade union bulletin in Ford in Bridgend about the possibility of potential strike action if plans, as they understood, go ahead to cut two thirds of the job population at Ford in Bridgend due to cutbacks, and due to changes in Ford on a UK and European level. I understand that there's going to be a top-level Ford management meeting in June—this...
Bethan Sayed: 2. Will the Minister outline the Welsh Government's support for people with muscular dystrophy? OAQ53958
Bethan Sayed: Okay. Thank you very much for that reply. As you will know, I chair the cross-party group on muscular dystrophy and we spend a lot of time talking about how clinicians deal with, or don't have the capacity to deal with, the particular condition. In one example in west Wales, one woman said a clinician tried to give her medication that was incompatible with her condition that could've led to...
Bethan Sayed: On behalf of Plaid Cymru, I'd like to offer my fullest sympathies with the workers. But I'd also like to say that I'm pretty angry on their behalf that many of the workers found out via social media that the plant was closing, as opposed to finding out initially from Ford. Now, what does that tell us about the family of Ford mantra? It's also hugely ironic, in the week that Donald Trump comes...
Bethan Sayed: Diolch yn fawr iawn. Given that Wales is currently facing potentially turbulent economic times, as we discussed only yesterday, with the potential closure of Ford, we believe here that we should do as much as possible to diversify the Welsh economy—for example, developing infrastructure so that, as a country, we can offer our businesses the ability to take advantage of emerging global...
Bethan Sayed: Thank you very much for that answer, and I recognise the work on decarbonisation, but I wanted to focus on digital, and I think that Wales is unprepared for, potentially, the next industrial revolution. We led the last one, but we are still lagging behind in this regard. Just to give you an example, there are large sections of society that even struggle to get 3G coverage as opposed to...
Bethan Sayed: Yes, thank you, and we are welcoming of that. I think the next steps are going to be vital, and there's no doubt about that. For us, I think, in Wales, and its partners, we will be able to deliver sectoral opportunities in health, autonomous vehicles, as you've mentioned, with electric vehicles, but not only that but hydrogen, as was mentioned yesterday, big data, artificial intelligence,...
Bethan Sayed: Last week, those in the Muslim community of Wales and the wider world took part in Ramadan and the festival Eid that followed it. Many in our communities and politicians here went to visit mosques and shared in that experience. And this will go a long way, I believe, in developing mutual understanding and respect of one another. Learning about different faiths and cultures can empower us and...
Bethan Sayed: I wanted to ask for a statement on the Augar report that was published in England on how they’re to pay fees and how they’re going to pay for the post-16 education system there. They certainly have recommended a reduction in the fees for students, and I want to understand from the Welsh Government how that will impact you. So, could we have a statement to that end? We know that the Welsh...
