Siân Gwenllian: 3. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the adequacy of the law to control second homes? OQ55731
Siân Gwenllian: At the moment, there is no legal mechanism to prevent homes to be sold at very high prices and used as second homes. Plaid Cymru has published an action plan outlining the changes required to the law in planning and in finance to control the situation. Now, you may have heard of the establishment of the Hawl i Fyw Adra campaign by a group of young people on the Llŷn peninsula who can't buy...
Siân Gwenllian: 4. Will the Counsel General make a statement on the Welsh Government's decision to intervene as a party in Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council's efforts to challenge the administrative court's judgment in the case of Driver versus that council? OQ55730
Siân Gwenllian: As you mentioned, that is one important issue arising from the administrative court's judgment, namely on the equality of English and Welsh text in law in Wales, but the other, which is, perhaps, of more interest, is the right of every citizen in Wales to have easy access to Welsh-medium education. According to the court's judgment, only 10 per cent of the language impact assessment on the...
Siân Gwenllian: Plaid Cymru will be abstaining on the regulations relating to Bangor in my constituency. We didn't oppose their introduction, but we were dissatisfied with communication issues and the lack of local communication around the process of introducing the regulations. We need far clearer communication with local communities, such as those in Bangor, if local lockdowns will be required again in...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you, Chair, and thank you for the opportunity to discuss this report and thank you for the work that the children's commissioner does to try and improve the lives of children and young people in Wales. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 crisis has changed the lives of the children of Wales in a dramatic manner, with schools and childcare settings closed for long periods of time,...
Siân Gwenllian: What financial support is available for businesses located in local health protection areas like Bangor?
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you, Llywydd. May I begin with the financial situation of our universities as a result of the health crisis? I'm aware that there is support being provided by the investment and resilience fund for higher education. It appears that the applications need to be in by the last day of this month, which is within the firebreak period. And, of course, universities will have additional...
Siân Gwenllian: I welcome your decision to extend your free school meals scheme to include school holidays until the spring of next year, and, also, your decision to extend the free-school-meals scheme to include additional pupils, particularly those from low income families. Will you consider extending it further still to include families who receive universal credit, the basic provision, or, even better...
Siân Gwenllian: I am pleased that you're keeping the situation under continuous review. That is vital, isn't it? Now, turning to another issue, to conclude, in July it was announced that 600 additional teachers would be recruited to schools and 300 teaching assistants for the current school year. I would like an update on this, and perhaps there isn't sufficient time this afternoon for you to give that...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. Our motion this afternoon focuses on important and timely aspects of the world of education in Wales. First of all, exams and assessments and the need for change that has been underlined by COVID and the requirements of the new curriculum, and I will expand on that in my contribution. Another important aspect is the identity and diversity of Wales. Including the history...
Siân Gwenllian: Formally move.
Siân Gwenllian: I move formally.
Siân Gwenllian: Formally.
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you for the report. I would also like to thank Commission staff for responding very positively to the challenge of continuing to provide bilingual services of the highest quality during this current crisis. The Commission has taken full advantage of technology in order to be in the vanguard in our work, and I think we should all, in this Senedd, be very proud of that. As you've noted,...
Siân Gwenllian: I have finished. Thank you.
Siân Gwenllian: First of all, I would like to thank the Petitions Committee for bringing both petitions to the attention of the Senedd, and thank you for bringing them together in a single debate, which is the right and appropriate thing to do. And I'd like to thank too those people who arranged both petitions, Elfed Wyn Jones and Angharad Owen, who worked so hard to gather so many signatures. I know that...
Siân Gwenllian: Having said that, I am highly aware that there are a number of significant challenges related to this, and I don't want to downplay those challenges, and I think it's important that we do discuss them. Elfed Wyn Jones's petition calls on the Welsh Government to create a common body of knowledge on Welsh history. I would challenge Elfed here. Who will decide what the content of that common...
Siân Gwenllian: I do welcome this news. As you know, Plaid Cymru has been making the case for having no end-of-year exams for months now. This announcement will be a relief to young people, their parents and to schools across Wales. It would have been impossible to hold external examinations in a way that would be fair to pupils under current circumstances. The decision does mean that alternative...
Siân Gwenllian: We welcome the conclusions and recommendations of this report, and we're grateful that the Welsh Government accepts the recommendations within it, although there is still much work to be done, of course. There is no doubt that the creative industries have been hit very hard by COVID-19, and that the Government must help the sector to rebuild. I do, therefore, welcome the statement made...
