Siân Gwenllian: 'We need to look towards the future not the past' according to the Minister in her foreword to her annual report on the 'Cymraeg 2050' strategy. And our work in the Senedd today is to review the activities of the 12 months between 1 April 2019 to 30 March of this year, which is what is reported on and encapsulated in the two reports before us today—a period that was almost entirely prior to...
Siân Gwenllian: Plaid Cymru welcomes the intention to improve support for pupils with additional learning needs, but I do note, however, that there are a number of challenges arising in introducing these changes, particularly in light of COVID and bearing in mind the far-reaching curricular reforms that are also in the pipeline. The changes to ALN education have a cost to them, but it is not clear exactly...
Siân Gwenllian: I would like to know with whom exactly within Welsh Government the theatre sector should be having discussions about reopening in a safe manner. With bingo halls, cinemas and casinos and so on being able to reopen, those working in theatres, and some of us who enjoy attending theatres, do need to know when they will be able to reopen safely. The problem is that they don't know with whom...
Siân Gwenllian: I understand that there will be a training centre for dentistry opening in north Wales, and that's very good news, but it is two or three years away, and in the meantime, there is a very real crisis developing in my constituency. Part of the problem arises from the way in which the contracts work between dentists and the health board, and there has been a pledge for some time that this...
Siân Gwenllian: 8. Will the First Minister make a statement on dental services in Arfon? OQ55946
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you to the committee for another report and for the opportunity to discuss it today. This series of reports has been very useful in shining a light on the impact of COVID on different parts of the cultural and creative sector, and, more importantly, puts forward recommendations about what we can do in this regard. This report looks specifically at the impact of COVID on heritage,...
Siân Gwenllian: I'm not going to apologise for raising this issue again. I'm very grateful to you for the recent discussions between our party and your Government, and I look forward to joining in a virtual meeting between the First Minister and representatives of the Hawl i Fyw Adra campaign next week. But it's one thing to have meetings and assessments and to make the right noises in terms of...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. Constituents in those four areas—in Carmel, Y Fron, Deiniolen and Dinorwic—have been very patient, but we do need to move forward to do the work that has been promised. I have been raising this issue with you since the summer of 2017. At the beginning, the company denied that there were problems, but you did—and I am grateful to you—hold not one, but two...
Siân Gwenllian: 3. Will the Minister provide an update on the Arbed scheme in Arfon? OQ55852
Siân Gwenllian: 3. Will the Minister provide an update on Welsh Government plans to tackle the issue of second homes across Wales? OQ55860
Siân Gwenllian: We welcome the conclusions and recommendations of this report, and we're grateful that the Welsh Government accepts the recommendations within it, although there is still much work to be done, of course. There is no doubt that the creative industries have been hit very hard by COVID-19, and that the Government must help the sector to rebuild. I do, therefore, welcome the statement made...
Siân Gwenllian: I do welcome this news. As you know, Plaid Cymru has been making the case for having no end-of-year exams for months now. This announcement will be a relief to young people, their parents and to schools across Wales. It would have been impossible to hold external examinations in a way that would be fair to pupils under current circumstances. The decision does mean that alternative...
Siân Gwenllian: Having said that, I am highly aware that there are a number of significant challenges related to this, and I don't want to downplay those challenges, and I think it's important that we do discuss them. Elfed Wyn Jones's petition calls on the Welsh Government to create a common body of knowledge on Welsh history. I would challenge Elfed here. Who will decide what the content of that common...
Siân Gwenllian: First of all, I would like to thank the Petitions Committee for bringing both petitions to the attention of the Senedd, and thank you for bringing them together in a single debate, which is the right and appropriate thing to do. And I'd like to thank too those people who arranged both petitions, Elfed Wyn Jones and Angharad Owen, who worked so hard to gather so many signatures. I know that...
Siân Gwenllian: I have finished. Thank you.
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you for the report. I would also like to thank Commission staff for responding very positively to the challenge of continuing to provide bilingual services of the highest quality during this current crisis. The Commission has taken full advantage of technology in order to be in the vanguard in our work, and I think we should all, in this Senedd, be very proud of that. As you've noted,...
Siân Gwenllian: I move formally.
Siân Gwenllian: Formally.
Siân Gwenllian: Formally move.
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. Our motion this afternoon focuses on important and timely aspects of the world of education in Wales. First of all, exams and assessments and the need for change that has been underlined by COVID and the requirements of the new curriculum, and I will expand on that in my contribution. Another important aspect is the identity and diversity of Wales. Including the history...
