Siân Gwenllian: Thank you to the committee for another brief but very important report, containing some sensible recommendations for the short term and the longer term in terms of sustaining and supporting local media and the press. Every time we discuss this area, I do declare an interest, because I am journalist by trade, and a member of the National Union of Journalists, and have been for almost 40 years...
Siân Gwenllian: Will the First Minister make a statement on managing short-term holiday lets?
Siân Gwenllian: Plaid Cymru will vote in favour of these regulations. I believe that the decision to close secondary schools could have been taken earlier because of the details that had been outlined by the technical advisory cell on 3 December, but the Minister chose to wait until the chief medical officer virtually ordered that this needed to happen, and that has created problems. I believe that...
Siân Gwenllian: If implemented and operated correctly, the new curriculum could provide the skills and confidence required for future generations. The committee's work has been crucial in trying to identify any barriers and any unintended consequences that could arise from the Bill, and the fact that we have drawn up 66 recommendations does demonstrate that our scrutiny did uncover a number of issues that...
Siân Gwenllian: 1. Will the Minister make a statement on the regulation of short-term holiday lets? OQ56042
Siân Gwenllian: Gwynedd Council has published a new housing scheme for the county with a budget of almost £80 million. The purpose of the scheme is to respond to the increasing crisis that there is in terms of housing in Gwynedd, placing the pressure on homes for local people, people who are in need, and investment in the local housing stock for the future. But as another step to respond to the crisis,...
Siân Gwenllian: As is the case in many other areas, the pandemic has intensified problems that existed long before the pandemic hit, and the Welsh language is no exception, as this report demonstrates, unfortunately. It's an uncertain future in terms of the Welsh language that we see here. The recommendations by the sub-group on increasing use of the Welsh language announced by the Minister today actually...
Siân Gwenllian: Yes, it's me.
Siân Gwenllian: That's fine.
Siân Gwenllian: Plaid Cymru firmly believes in the principle of free school meals for all school pupils in Wales, and that would be our view in Government. It would be a policy that would use local produce, would support Welsh businesses and would safeguard the environment. It's a duty on any Government to ensure that not a single child goes to school with an empty stomach, and yet, there are 70,000 living...
Siân Gwenllian: I am urging you to support both of Plaid Cymru's amendments today. This Johnson deal is a hard Brexit. The people of Wales have not given a mandate for a hard Brexit, and this Senedd must show strong opposition to it. It's not a choice between two ills—that's not what we're here to do. Our work today is to signify through a symbolic vote that the Johnson deal is damaging to Wales and that...
Siân Gwenllian: You've just confirmed that you have commissioned some new scientific work on the transmission of the new variant of the virus among children. Before receiving the result of that work, how can you be confident that the education Minister's plans to get everyone back to school by 18 January is wise and sustainable in terms of preventing the spread of this new variant? Aren't the signals...
Siân Gwenllian: 5. What resources have been allocated in the 2021-22 budget for education in the post-COVID period? OQ56104
Siân Gwenllian: We will need an ambitious plan for education if we're to support our children in this post-COVID period, particularly those children who have missed out most on their education—many of those from deprived backgrounds. I haven't seen such a plan as of yet, but certainly it won't be possible to pay for the huge amount of additional work required within the local government settlement in the...
Siân Gwenllian: I would like to wish Meilyr Rowlands well on his retirement and thank him for all his assistance over recent years. Meilyr has been a strong voice for community schools, and that vision has an important role as we reflect on what needs to change in coming years. From the inspections that Estyn managed to undertake—around 60 per cent of what was planned—we do see a picture that is similar...
Siân Gwenllian: 6. Will the First Minister provide an update on the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Arfon? OQ56197
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you. It was a privilege to take my mother, who is 92 years old, for her first vaccination at the major event on the Llŷn peninsula over the weekend. As a result of the excellent efforts of local medical leaders and despite a whole host of bureaucratic barriers and snow, 1,200 people were vaccinated. GPs and health workers are doing heroic work in all parts of Wales, and our debt to...
Siân Gwenllian: May I ask for a statement on financial support for the National Eisteddfod of Wales, the National Library of Wales and Urdd Gobaith Cymru? They are all facing significant challenges and urgent action is needed within the next budget. Could I ask you, therefore, as finance Minister, to give serious consideration to the situation, given that one of your Government's main strategies, namely the...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you for the statement. I want to take the opportunity this afternoon to mention Louise Casella's review, which was commissioned by you following the exams fiasco of last year. At last, on Friday afternoon the independent review of the summer 2020 arrangements for the awarding of grades and considerations for the summer of 2021 was published; it's a lengthy title. This was the final...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you for the statement and the report, and I look forward to reading it in detail. The focus of the policy, as you said, is to influence homes where people are already able to speak Welsh in order to help them to use the language with their children. Now, at the end of the day, it's pride in the Welsh language and confidence in its value that will create this great shift that is...
