Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Chair. I’m pleased to contribute to this Stage 1 debate today to outline the main conclusions of the Children, Young People and Education Committee. The committee was unanimous in its agreement of the general principles of the Bill. We believe the Bill will provide a platform for reform of the current SEN system, which is long overdue, a view that was clearly shared by the...
Lynne Neagle: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on his priorities for local government?
Lynne Neagle: 3. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on her priorities for schools in Wales for the next six months? OAQ(5)0139(EDU)
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I very much welcome your assurances in committee this morning that the renamed pupil deprivation grant will continue to be targeted at pupils on free school meals and also thank you for your kind words about Woodlands school in my constituency. It is undoubtedly the case that there is really excellent practice in the use of the PDG in Wales, and I recently...
Lynne Neagle: 9. What steps is the Cabinet Secretary taking to ensure schools in Wales promote emotional resilience in children and young people? OAQ(5)0140(EDU)
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I was very grateful to you for meeting with Samaritans Cymru with me recently. As you know, they have been very, very keen on mainstreaming emotional resilience in the curriculum, and I'm sure they welcome, as I do, that you've gone further, really, in including well-being in ‘Qualified for Life’—that is very, very positive. However, as you know, I have...
Lynne Neagle: I’m pleased to make a brief contribution in this debate today. I was grateful to the National Autistic Society Cymru for meeting with me after the last time we discussed this. Their passion and also their palpable frustration on behalf of the families they support was really powerful and made a very big impression on me. I am also aware from my own casework of the battles that families...
Lynne Neagle: One of the things that we can do to improve the lives of older people is ensure that our dementia strategy is ambitious and genuinely life-changing. As you know, the Cabinet Secretary is currently considering the very large number of responses that the Government has received on this, but I believe this is very much a matter for the whole Government, particularly as I believe it will need...
Lynne Neagle: Can I thank the Minister for his statement today and place on record my condolences too for those who lost their lives last week? I’m very grateful to Bron Afon Community Housing for meeting with me very promptly last week to discuss the repercussions of this terrible tragedy for Torfaen. As you’ll be aware, Cabinet Secretary, we have three high-rise blocks in Torfaen, and, thankfully,...
Lynne Neagle: Will the First Minister make a statement on support for voluntary youth work organisations in Wales?
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement. I would like to take this opportunity to place on record my deep disappointment at this decision today. As the Cabinet Secretary is aware, I’ve been a supporter of this project, as has my local authority in Torfaen, believing that it would be a transformative thing for the Heads of the Valleys area, particularly with our strong record of...
Lynne Neagle: 6. What is the Welsh Government doing to monitor the outcomes of its five-year Global Futures plan to improve and promote modern foreign languages in Wales? OAQ(5)0155(EDU)
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. As I’m sure you will have seen, the British Council has recently published their third annual language trends survey of modern foreign languages in Welsh secondary schools, the results of which, I am sure you will agree, are very worrying. The survey comes just 18 months into the plan, which is aimed at promoting modern foreign languages in Wales, but in...
Lynne Neagle: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline how the Welsh Government is working to improve prosperity in the south Wales valleys? OAQ(5)0207(EI)
Lynne Neagle: Cabinet Secretary, the proposals put forward by the Department for Work and Pensions over the future of their estate in Wales will see a relocation of some 200 skilled staff out of Cwmbran town centre. Not only would this have a devastating impact on the local economy in Cwmbran, but would pose enormous difficulties for staff with caring responsibilities who are unable to travel to the...
Lynne Neagle: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government's priorities for the economy in Torfaen for the remainder of the fifth Assembly?
Lynne Neagle: Cabinet Secretary, I know that you are aware of my concerns about access to medicines generally, and I’m grateful to you for meeting with me previously to discuss Avastin. And I do understand the difficulties, but I think we also have to recognise that it’s very difficult for people to understand that something can be made available in Scotland, and in England, and not in Wales. I have...
Lynne Neagle: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government’s housing priorities for the next 12 months?
Lynne Neagle: Cabinet Secretary, can I ask for a debate in Government time on the impact of welfare reform on devolved services in Wales? It has been some time since we’ve debated this issue here. As you’re aware, universal credit had its full service roll-out in Torfaen in July—the second part of Wales to go live on the full service—and already the signs are deeply worrying. The six-week wait for...
Lynne Neagle: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement and welcome the plan that she’s published today? We know, of course, that there are challenges, but I think that it is a very welcome plan and that it is very useful to have everything in one document, in one place, with the timescales attached. I also welcome the announcement that you’ve made about the curriculum and the phased...
