Julie Morgan: I'd like to thank Huw Irranca-Davies very much for those points. Certainly, we don't want any duplication and that's why, in extending the offer to education and training, we are looking at the gaps in the system, because there are a range of ways that you can actually get some help for childcare if you're in education and training. The last thing we want to do is to duplicate when we've...
Julie Morgan: I thank Jenny Rathbone for that comment. Yes, I agree with her about community schools, and I certainly agree about co-location. This is a discussion we have been having. As she says, there are many schools where you would be able to develop childcare provision on site, or you can help add to something that's already on site, and we have done quite a bit of that already with the capital...
Julie Morgan: Yes. And the numbers earning over £80,000 or over £100,000 are even smaller, so there are actually not very many wealthy people in Wales in terms of those numbers. So, we did spend a lot of time on the committee looking at the HMRC issue—a very long time—and I'd like to thank those members of the committee who did take part in it, and I was part of it as well, but it was a learning...
Julie Morgan: I thank Mark Reckless for those points, and I'm pleased he's recognised that we have followed our manifesto here in Wales and that we are working with the public and private sectors. One of the issues that have arisen is the difficulty, sometimes, when the care setting is a long way from the school setting, and so we have encouraged co-location where possible. We've also given grants to...
Julie Morgan: I thank Siân Gwenllian very much for all those points that she made, and I take her point that this does not include every child. I am very pleased that we are now reviewing extending the offer to parents who are in education and training or moving towards education and training, which we're thinking of in terms of actually having taster courses or going to interviews, so we want to stretch...
Julie Morgan: I'd like to thank Janet Finch-Saunders for her statements and questions. I suppose when I say it's very successful, I'm basing it on the fact that it's a year early and 16,000 children are benefiting from it. And I don't think we can query the fact that is a great success. I absolutely agree with her that nurseries are central to the offer. When I've been going around the country visiting...
Julie Morgan: So, we began testing our offer in parts of Wales in 2017. We were often asked why the offer wasn't available everywhere, and why we were phasing the roll-out. I was particularly asked that in my constituency in Cardiff North, which was one of the last places to join the roll-out. The phased approach was important to ensure that the offer was properly tested and worked as we had intended....
Julie Morgan: Thank you, diolch, acting Presiding Officer. And thank you very much for the opportunity to update the Assembly on the progress in delivering our childcare offer for Wales. Members will be aware that, when this Government was elected, one of the key commitments we made was to provide 30 hours of early education and childcare to the working parents of three and four-year-olds across Wales...
Julie Morgan: Formally move.
Julie Morgan: Well, the evidence that Darren Millar puts forward from New Zealand is very different from the evidence that I have read, and the first-hand reports that I've received about what's happened in New Zealand is that it has been a very positive experience, that 10 years have resulted in a very successful bit of legislation of which they are proud. So, I think you're looking at something very...
Julie Morgan: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thanks to everybody who contributed to this debate. I'm very grateful to the committee Chairs and the members of the committees who've spoken in the debate today, and I thank them again for their very detailed reports. I look forward to working with them as the Bill continues. Obviously, due to the time restrictions, I'm not going to be able...
Julie Morgan: Yes, I think the Member’s making a very important point. It’s essential that we introduce this legislation with support for parents. What we want to do is to try to make the job of parenting easier, and I think we all know that parenting is difficult, and parents welcome all the advice and help they can get. So, it’s absolutely essential that when we introduce this legislation, we also...
Julie Morgan: Certainly.
Julie Morgan: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm pleased to open this debate on the general principles of the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill. This Bill, if passed, will ensure children in Wales have the same level of protection from physical punishment as adults. I want to start by thanking the three committees who have worked so hard to scrutinise this Bill. Your input will be...
Julie Morgan: Again, a very important point, and the additional money that we've given, obviously, we've been able to track that. This year, we agreed to £1 million of funding to support carers, but also £1.7 million has been awarded in total across Carers Wales and Carers Trust Wales as part of the third sector sustainable social services grant. So, we do give money to fund the third sector in order to...
Julie Morgan: Yes, certainly.
Julie Morgan: Yes, I think Joyce Watson makes a very important point there, and I think Jayne Bryant also raised the issue of employment and how important it is for carers to be able to continue with employment, for financial reasons if for no other reason. The fact that women have to work longer now is bound to have an impact on their caring roles. So, I think that is definitely an area that should be...
Julie Morgan: Yes. I think that's a very important point—that these are the minimum figures; these are 'at least'. Because I think we all know that there's a huge issue about self-identification as a carer, and that is one of the things that the Welsh Government is trying to do—to try to get more people to identify themselves as carers, and then maybe we'd be able to give more help. Obviously, there's...
Julie Morgan: Oh, yes, certainly.
Julie Morgan: Diolch. Thank you very much, Jayne Bryant, for bringing this debate here to the Chamber this evening and putting so eloquently the situation that carers are in. And it's very good that the Newport Carers Forum are also here. It is a privilege for me to have the responsibility for unpaid carers in my portfolio, and I want to ensure that carers do feel valued, that they don't face stigma in...
