Suzy Davies: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I am more than content to note this report and even to welcome it. Over the past year, it seems to me that this place has started to feel slightly different; the Record has improved and I’m pleased to see that some of our security staff have started to welcome me in Welsh. They’ve probably seen my lanyard; I hope that's the only reason. I also feel that I...
Suzy Davies: What consideration did the Cabinet Secretary give to social care when allocating funding to the health and social services budget?
Suzy Davies: First Minister, it has been just over six months now since the 50-mph zone on the M4 was extended between Port Talbot and the Earlswood turning for Swansea, at the time, your Minister telling us that this was in advance of completed detailed modelling that would be taking place in the summer. Well, summer's over, so can you tell us what those three months have produced in terms of data,...
Suzy Davies: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. First of all, can I just thank Paul Davies for appointing me to this new position? I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. I hope the Cabinet Secretary won't mind if I start with something of personal interest and return to rural schools, bearing in mind the experience of my own family over the last 15 years or so. I can see that the consultation on...
Suzy Davies: Well, thank you for that answer and for your very kind words, of course. I have to say, though, that the majority of responses that came in on the consultation were from councils, diocesan bodies and unions, and the children's voice was represented solely, it would seem to me anyway, by the children's commissioner, and I'm not quite sure how she managed to get the information or views of...
Suzy Davies: Well, thank you for that answer. It takes nine months to produce a child; I hoped it would have been a bit quicker to produce a code. The school standards Act and the rights of children and young persons Measure aren't the only pieces of legislation that are relevant to school reorganisation; the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 is now in force, and I'm pleased to say that in...
Suzy Davies: The 14-19 learning pathways—this is for you, Minister—that entitles young people in Wales, as you know, to study the subjects they want, even if it's not in their own school and they can go to a nearby school. However, the funding that previously went from Welsh Government to local authorities to enable that has been combined with other funding grants, which has made it difficult to...
Suzy Davies: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. I've had quite a lot to do in my first 24 hours in this new role. I want to begin, colleagues, on behalf of us all, I think, by offering my congratulations to students, teachers and staff across Wales on the work that you put into this year's exams, and offer our best wishes to everybody, whatever their results. There are many ways to shape a future, and exam...
Suzy Davies: Now, we've had years of inappropriate early entries and we should have stopped this long ago. But now that they have been stopped—they were down by 77 per cent this year—the attainment of good GCSE grades is lower still: A* to C in maths, English language and literature, Welsh language, biology, chemistry and physics—the biggies—all down according to Qualifications Wales. You cannot...
Suzy Davies: 3. Will the First Minister provide an update on the Swansea Bay city deal? OAQ52649
Suzy Davies: Thank you very much for that, considering we're some way into the lifespans of these deals. It's a shame it's taken quite that long, but, nevertheless—. The Institute for Welsh Affairs has argued that there has to be more investment, research and innovation for us to have any chance of meeting the 100 per cent of our energy demand from renewables by 2035, and the homes as power stations...
Suzy Davies: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I just say I definitely welcome this statement? Anything that speaks to improvement and the visibility of the improvement in standards is something I'm sure we will all want to hear a little bit more about. Perhaps I could just ask you to kick off with—you say that we're going to get an update on this again when the curriculum areas of learning and experience...
Suzy Davies: And finally, Paul Davies.
Suzy Davies: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I hope you feel better soon.
Suzy Davies: We will now move to a statement from the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport: priorities for the historic environment of Wales. I call on the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport, Dafydd Elis-Thomas.
Suzy Davies: We have heard from every party present in the Chamber today and we have run out of time, but there's an opportunity for the final speaker to ask a swift question, please—Jayne Bryant.
Suzy Davies: Could I ask you to come to the question, please?
Suzy Davies: Thank you. That brings today's proceedings to a close.
Suzy Davies: Well, I feel Mike Hedges's pain on this one a little bit, I'm afraid, and I'm interested, on the corridor study, in whether it covers the point that I'm about to raise with you now. During the eight months of the junction 41 closure, which David Rees referred to yesterday, the usage at peak morning time of the Harbour Way distributor road, which the First Minister opened five years ago, rose...
Suzy Davies: Will you take an intervention? You and I represent the same area, in which Morriston Hospital is found. Do you share my concerns that, if all these services keep being pushed east, then they'll get as far as Morriston, which is already overloaded by other demands made on it? While it's great that we have things, hopefully, like thoracic surgery coming to us as a specialism, when you've got...
