Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...the heart of this debate is that, if we are to give people the choice over whether to use the Welsh language in their adult lives, we have to give them the ability to speak that language, and that education is the key way to ensure that they have those skills?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...is why I believe there is a duty on all of us here to channel our energies to persuade people about why it is that we’re taking these steps on introducing and widening access to Welsh-medium education.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...which is renewable energy. But, of course, that potential isn’t going to release itself. It’s not going to volunteer itself. It’s the work of Government, working with business and with higher education in terms of pushing the boundaries and seeking new opportunities. It is a cause of great frustration for me that the UK Government still can’t make a decision on the future of the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...And that is why it is so cruel that this funding source has been taken away, when Governments in other parts of the United Kingdom have, in my view, taken the correct decision, as the department of education did in England—coincidentally, I add, yesterday—to maintain the £81 million of funding in England over a period of three years. Mi oeddwn i, fel yr oeddwn i’n ei ddweud, yn...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...budget of low-income families. And they remind us that the three other administrations in the UK have maintained their financial support for the Family Fund at the 2015-16 level. The Department for Education in England announced yesterday, by coincidence, that it will continue to fund this programme—a sum of £81 million over three years. I would add that the Government amendment does...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...motion, tabled by the Welsh Conservatives? I will move amendments that we believe strengthen this motion further. We are, of course, aware of the impact that securing quality housing, healthcare, education and being safe in the home, and so on, have on a child’s development. I’m sure that some of you will recall some previous Plaid Cymru debates in this Chamber on preventing the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...consider the state of the nation. Today, we are using our St David’s Day debate to look to our past, our present and our future, and to particularly address the areas of the economy, health and education. We need honesty in terms of how things are today. Of course, we’re not looking back with a sense of nostalgia in terms of how things were for many Welsh citizens over the past century...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I’m very pleased to say that Anglesey was the first education authority to turn entirely to comprehensive education at the beginning of the 1950s. So, again, there are successes and innovation in education that we can be proud of. Lywydd, rwyf wedi paentio llun, gobeithio, o orffennol Cymru. Y cwestiwn yn awr yw sut rydym yn dysgu o’r profiad hwnnw ac yn adeiladu ar yr etifeddiaeth honno...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...the Assembly made accusations about the conduct of both the Assembly Member for Rhondda and the Member of Parliament for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr relating to the campaign for the future of the school in Llangennech. Specifically, he accused Jonathan Edwards of engaging, and I quote, ‘in a public campaign of intimidation of one of those activists’. These are comments that could well...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...people say that they would wish to have those skills; and 83 per cent say that they would be far more confident in trying to save a life or in caring for an individual if they had been given that education. If I could just turn to some comments made by the Welsh Government in response to the BBC, saying that pupils do learn about emergency care techniques already as part of personal and...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...doctors and so on, in order for the primary care sector to deliver the objectives that the Government is putting in place for them? The next one is for the Cabinet Secretary to discuss with the education Secretary, perhaps. I welcome the section in the delivery plan on children with cardiac conditions. In that plan, it notes that the Cabinet Secretary—the Government—wants children who...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...further as a Parliament for our nation, and that would give the Welsh Government the necessary tools to stabilise and strengthen our economy, to create a healthier Wales, and to strengthen our education system in the way in which we here in Wales would want to prioritise. But that, for me, is not what this Bill that we are asked to give consent to today entails. This is not a Bill that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...health problems as compared to their peers, even a long time after they’ve been rehoused—even 12 months, maybe, after being rehoused. So, given the health impacts, is it any surprise that educational attainment also suffers? Homeless children in temporary accommodation on average miss 55 school days, which corresponds to 25 per cent of the school year, because of the problems that they...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ..., that we have worked on with this Government does, I think, represent a step towards achieving Plaid Cymru’s ambition of a healthier Wales, and whether it’s in additional money for medical education, diagnostic equipment, mental health spending, eating disorders, gender identity services in Wales, or end-of-life care, I think what we have here are improvements that will bring about...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...and ill health, uncertainties in terms of employment and unemployment and the relationship with health, and none of those could be considered as lifestyle choices. It’s also true that improved education and access to greenfield sites and more secure employment have a positive impact on one’s health. The chief medical officer reminds us specifically of adverse childhood experiences...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: .... Other changes to the immigration system are also likely to add to these problems. I’m talking about the decline in foreign students, perhaps, and that would perhaps restrict the ability of our education sector to make provision for Welsh students, as that would lead to the loss of a significant income stream for our universities. So, why are we calling for Wales to have the power to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...declaration that those radical steps were needed. But we will move on. Plaid Cymru, as the Cabinet Secretary knows, is keen to see the development of medical training in Bangor. Funding for medical education formed part of our recent agreement on the budget. Does the Cabinet Secretary agree that, if he is serious about developing medical education in north Wales, removing specialist...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...y rhai a ddechreuodd mewn gwaith fod eu hiechyd meddwl wedi gwella. Bydd fy nghyd-Aelodau’n ymhelaethu ar y pwyntiau hynny yn eu cyfraniadau hwy y prynhawn yma. We’ve also drawn attention to education specifically in this motion. We know that a great deal of intervention happens in early years to ensure that children do receive the very best start, but it is becoming increasingly...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...people, from rugby to football, to hockey, gymnastics, athletics, sailing—there are too many to list. It’s a wonderful thing to be in the Holyhead weightlifting and fitness centre when Holyhead school, which is nearby, closes at the end of the day and the young people flow in because the resources are available for them and there are people to inspire them to look after their own...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...NHS. I would want to distance myself from virtually everything that Jeremy Hunt has said. But, coming to my question, he has announced this week that he wants to see more training places in medical schools in England. Is that something that the Cabinet Secretary wants to see happening in Wales?
