Mike Hedges: ...? Can I first of all return to the motion that Plaid Cymru has put down? I’d like to agree with the statement that local government is contributing towards the local economy, health service and educational outcomes. Taking each in turn, local government is both a very large employer and a large purchaser across Wales. It plays a crucial role in the local economy, which is a...
Mike Hedges: ...all play a major part in keeping people healthy—the pressures on social services, both child and adult services, are immense, and, I would say, far greater than those on health. The importance of education we’ve discussed earlier. What information does the Cabinet Secretary have on pressures on local government expenditure? The third question is—we had a statement on Communities...
Mike Hedges: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that response? Flying Start has made a huge improvement to life opportunities for many of my constituents. It means that children are starting school at or close to their chronological age. Whilst I believe it should be based on communities, not the vagaries of the Office for National Statistics-created super-output areas, will the Minister reiterate his...
Mike Hedges: ...First Minister agree with me that what is important is outcomes not inputs? And will the First Minister join me in congratulating Swansea council on record-breaking GCSE results, and Pentrehafod School and Morriston Comprehensive School—two Schools Challenge Cymru schools—on their excellent GCSE results?
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for that response. As well as the Estyn inspections, schools also undergo an annual assessment by the regional consortium under the GAR—better known as the traffic light system. Why do they produce different results, and which ones should parents pay most attention to?
Mike Hedges: 6. Will the Minister make a statement on Estyn inspection of schools in Wales? OAQ(5)0019(EDU)
Mike Hedges: This is the second cyclical set of GCSE results that have been achieved since Schools Challenge Cymru was launched. I visited Pentrehafod School and Morriston Comprehensive School on GCSE results day to be told that Pentrehafod had achieved their best ever GCSE results, and that Morriston had increased their A* to C grades by 17 per cent. Can I ask the Cabinet Secretary for Education to make...
Mike Hedges: Of course, when pupils get to school, they have to make their way around the school. A number of children have mobility difficulty, some are in wheelchairs, but some also have difficulties in making their way round the schools. How many schools are not fully Disability Discrimination Act compliant? What is the Welsh Government doing to ensure that they are?
Mike Hedges: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I first of all thank Rhianon for giving me the opportunity to speak in this? In Swansea East, two replacement secondary schools and one replacement primary school have been built. One replacement primary is under construction and planning has been applied for another replacement secondary school. Demountables have been replaced by permanent buildings....
Mike Hedges: ...it, it’s not a thin booklet, and that’s just one area of local government. Local authority services affect everybody and everyone every day: roads, pavements, refuse collection, litter removal, education and social services daily affect the lives of the people living in an area. Social services departments in Wales are under more financial pressure than any other service area in the...
Mike Hedges: ...Bryn Tawe and a granddaughter attending Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Tan-y-lan. I welcome the report and the commitment of the Welsh Government and the Minister to the Welsh language. I believe that education is the key to the continuation of Welsh as a community language. I am pleased with the growth of Welsh-medium education, especially in south Wales, led by Labour-controlled local...
