Hefin David: I report to the Chamber that I was at Caerphilly council last night as a member, on one of my last appearances there, and I voted to support the city deal, and the whole council did as well. I’d say to Nick Ramsay: I’m sure you remember the south-east Wales shared service model, which constituted the same 10 local authorities but failed to emerge, simply sharing payroll, training and HR....
Hefin David: 4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the most effective use of teachers’ planning, preparation and assessment time in schools? OAQ(5)0092(EDU)
Hefin David: It’s good to hear that the Cabinet Secretary supports that flexibility. At the Children, Young People and Education Committee last week, the NUT said that PPA is a big issue in primary schools in particular. It was Neil Foden of NUT Cymru who said that schools were freeing teachers for the required 10 per cent of their teaching time and releasing them from their workloads, which is to be...
Hefin David: 5. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on removing the boundaries between further and higher education? OAQ(5)0091(EDU)
Hefin David: I welcome that statement and the measures that she has just identified in response to the Hazelkorn review. In her evidence to the Children, Young People and Education Committee on 10 November, she stated that, in the more immediate future—before that further consultation takes place—when she submits her annual remit letter, there'll be an expectation that, of the money that has been...
Hefin David: Speaking as the youngest member of the committee—[Laughter.] These things are all relative, you know—I don’t claim to have any special insights, other than what we learned from the inquiry. And I agree with the Chair, with Lynne Neagle, that that stakeholder event was a great thing, a real chance to tap into the thoughts and the experiences of those people delivering those services, and...
Hefin David: I say in response to David Melding that my colleagues make fun of me whenever I mention my degrees and using my degrees, so I’ve learnt to keep quiet about it—[Interruption.] Yes, the gowns were pretty exotic. [Laughter.] I started my career in what was the Allt-yr-yn, or colloquially known as the ‘Altereen’ campus in Newport. My experience in HE was only ever, and I think I’ve said...
Hefin David: Will the First Minister make a statement on the value of small business incubation centres in Wales?
Hefin David: 2. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on how the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal will benefit the northern Valleys? OAQ(5)0097(FLG)
Hefin David: And, Llywydd, I should declare an interest as a member of Caerphilly County Borough Council. A few weeks ago, I voted in favour of Caerphilly County Borough Council accepting the city deal.
Hefin David: Thank you. Last week, I chaired a cross-party group on small and medium-sized enterprises, and the guest speaker was Professor Karel Williams from the University of Manchester. He raised the concept of the city region and made particular reference to Greater Manchester, and he said that while it works as a concept in many ways, Wales would do well to learn from some of the problems that...
Hefin David: Will the First Minister make a statement on endometriosis services in Wales?
Hefin David: It’s a pleasure to speak in a debate that had its own cinematic trailer, which featured Professor Karel Williams on his visit to the Pierhead that Julie Morgan mentioned. It’s an unusual personal honour to be elected to represent, here in the National Assembly for Wales, your community and the one in which you were born and brought up. It encourages reflection on what the place that’s...
Hefin David: Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the Welsh Government's efforts to tackle homelessness in Wales?
Hefin David: Leader of the house, though you wouldn’t believe it, there was quite a degree of consensus last week during the debate on the foundational economy, which has already been mentioned by Simon Thomas, and it was agreed unanimously in the Chamber that indigenous small businesses connect with each other in a way that doesn’t happen in large firms. Networks of social capital need to be extended...
Hefin David: Will the First Minister provide an update on Welsh Government plans to increase the affordable housing stock in Caerphilly?
Hefin David: Let’s calm it down. I’d like to focus on recommendation 1 and recommendation 8 in my response, particularly recommendation 1: ‘the supply of land for strategically significant housing developments and related supporting infrastructure’. This is a theme I spoke about on a number of occasions in the Chamber when I was first elected and, indeed, formed an unlikely double act with Neil...
Hefin David: 3. Will the First Minister provide an update on Welsh Government plans to create better jobs closer to home? OAQ(5)0521(FM)
Hefin David: It’s worth remembering that it was in October 2015 that the Wales Trades Union Congress launched its excellent campaign for better jobs, closer to home, to benefit Valleys communities such as the one I represent in Caerphilly, and, indeed, I received a very friendly note from them last week emphasising that, and I was pleased to see the same principles contained in the programme for...
Hefin David: Diolch. I think Darren Millar asked so many questions he was bound to hit one of mine, and his last question did. It wasn’t exactly the question I was going to ask, but it kind of nicely follows on. One of the things that the Minister said was that funding levels will vary, but projects typically span two or more years, with initial funding of up to £100,000 leading on to further...
