Mike Hedges: ...in the city region must be taken. And I’ll say it again, because I’ve said it a dozen times here now: Swansea and Neath Port Talbot look Janus-like. If it’s for fire, if it’s for the education consortium, we look to the west. If, however, it’s for policing or it’s for health, we look to the east. There is no coherence about it. It’s almost as if everybody who’s come along...
Mike Hedges: ...music for young people. It crucially provides an opportunity for children and young people to speak and use Welsh in a social context, which I think is incredibly important. It’s an out-of-school context for it. And also Communities First youth work has involved providing both outreach services and indoor youth provision. Can the Minister indicate the future of ‘mentrau iaith’ youth...
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Minister. If we want to see a million Welsh speakers, then the journey for many starts with ‘cylch Ti a Fi’, then Mudiad Meithrin and then primary school and then, finally, secondary school. Then we will have children at 16 years of age who are fluent Welsh speakers. How does the Welsh Government support the ‘Ti a Fi’ movement?
Mike Hedges: ...to recycle. It is now much more expensive to place rubbish in a hole in the ground than it is to recycle materials. Also, greater environmental awareness by individuals—and again, credit to the schools for promoting recycling—has meant that and more people are willing to recycle. Schools have pushed environmental matters for very many years, and the people who were being pushed on...
Mike Hedges: ...’t, is it something that could be considered? Because, you’re re-circling public sector money, but you’re using it in a way that benefits both parts. Today, I visited Pentre’r Graig Primary School in Morriston, which, whilst not a new-build, has been almost completely remodelled internally. The twenty-first century schools scheme is transforming education buildings and education in...
Mike Hedges: This is a very sad day for Swansea East and a sad day for health, as smoking cessation, smoke-free homes, exercise classes, healthy diet and slimming programmes end. A sad day for educational attainment, as Easter exam preparation, homework clubs and family learning programmes end. A sad day for people who would have benefited from money awareness courses, utility bills advice, basic...
Mike Hedges: ...for that response? As someone who has been learning Welsh for many years, I know how difficult it is to learn as an adult. The Minister has said there are 8,804 five-year-olds in Welsh-medium schools currently, which equates, assuming a life expectancy of 85 years, to something in the order of 850,000 or so—perhaps slightly under—Welsh speakers in 2097. That is, unless more...
Mike Hedges: Firstly, can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for both her answer and visiting the newly built Burlais school, especially as Burlais school replaced two schools that needed replacing, with very serious problems with their buildings—they had internal running water every time it rained. I’ve also invited the Cabinet Secretary to visit Blaenymaes school, which is on the council’s rebuilding...
Mike Hedges: 3. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement regarding the 21st century schools programme in Swansea East? OAQ(5)0081(EDU)
Mike Hedges: 6. How many five year old children are currently attending Welsh-medium schools in Wales? OAQ(5)0080(EDU)
Mike Hedges: ...: as I have previously argued, some would probably say ad nauseam, there are services that are best provided at a local level and those that benefit from being large organisations—I think that education and social services are two that immediately come to mind, as the two great county council services; but not only those, trading standards, again, is another service that does benefit...
Mike Hedges: ...the importance of keeping the street lights on; trading standards ensuring that the public are protected against rogue traders; archive services; public protection regarding road safety, including school crossing patrols; ensuring buildings are safe, healthy and sustainable, and access for all users, whether domestic, commercial or public services; registering births, marriages and deaths;...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that response? And can I ask the Cabinet Secretary why she believes that the ERW consortium area is more suitable for education improvement within the Swansea area than either the former West Glamorgan area or the Swansea city region?
Mike Hedges: 3. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the education consortium covering the Swansea area? OAQ(5)0061(EDU)
Mike Hedges: ...should be cut and additional money should be given to health, council tax should be frozen, and local government should concentrate solely on statutory services, and central expenditure by local education authorities should end. What does it actually mean? Because people often talk about cutting things, but what do they actually mean by that? It’d mean closure of most libraries, closure...
Mike Hedges: ...you get their salaries up. When that happens, the tax take goes up and people end up better off. Can I just say that, finally, capital expenditure is desperately needed for things as diverse as new schools and flood defences, even though the global warming deniers do not believe that we need the additional flood defences?
Mike Hedges: ...end. Or is this austerity agenda just a fig leaf to hide the desire of the Conservatives to shrink the public sector? Where the state cannot be removed completely, they find a way, such as academy schools in England, where the private sector can make money out of it. Turning to the budget before us, health continues on its journey towards 50 per cent of the Welsh revenue budget; this time...
Mike Hedges: I very much appreciate the work done by Communities First in Swansea East and hope that that work on improving health, educational attainment, reducing fixed outgoings, and finding employment will continue. How does the Cabinet Secretary see the role of local councils and public service boards in building resilient communities and continuing these much-needed and very good schemes?
Mike Hedges: ...ysgolion cyfrwng Cymraeg, yn eu defnyddio nhw yn naturiol. Over half the people who will take part in the 2051 census are alive now. All the 38-year-olds in the 2061 census would’ve started school. Yn olaf, pwy ydy siaradwyr Cymraeg? Pobl fel fi sy’n siarad Cymraeg gyda theulu a ffrindiau yn y capel ac yn y dafarn, sydd ddim yn hyderus i siarad Cymraeg yn gyhoeddus? A ydw i’n cyfrif...
Mike Hedges: ...it continues going forward because we need to make a change. Even the good of what’s happening with three and four-year-olds is not good enough. We need to make sure that children learn Welsh in school. I’m going to talk more about that, in Welsh, later on. So, apologies. I won’t go into it now. We need to get people to do it now, because it’s incredibly difficult to learn Welsh as...
