Jeremy Miles: It is very important that young people in Wales are given an education that enables them to navigate the world in which we live and understand the challenges that young people face, which certainly I didn't face when I was at their age, and that is the underlying purpose and effect of the relationships and sexuality education code and guidance. The Member will be very well aware that there is...
Jeremy Miles: Well, I would welcome any support that the UK Government is prepared to provide in terms of additional funding to the Welsh Government to support public services and support families across Wales. I think the failure to be clear about that is a significant concern for public services right across Wales. We have, as the Member will know, a number of initiatives to support the very real...
Jeremy Miles: In terms of workforce salaries, that funding has already been allocated according to the revenue support grant last year. That was the basis for their agreement. I agree with the comments made by Sioned Williams on the pressures on our schools because of the increase in the costs of heating and other costs related to inflation and so on. As the Member will know from what we were discussing in...
Jeremy Miles: Well, I refer Mark Isherwood to the answer I gave a moment ago, but I would say, both to him and to Llyr Gruffydd, that, if you would like to write to me about the particular constituent, I would be able to look into that in more detail—unless you have already; I certainly have had some correspondence on this. But I'd be very happy to look into that in more detail.
Jeremy Miles: The cost-of-living crisis is having, and will continue to have, a significant impact on all public services, including our schools. As the First Minister has made clear, only the UK Government has the financial firepower to tackle the crippling effects of rising energy and other costs.
Jeremy Miles: Some changes have already been made. So, HEIW has already increased the allowance available to students with regard to placement accommodation and so on, and transport. So, some steps have already been taken. We've established a programme board for bursaries and incentives to ensure that we can renew the bursary to ensure that it does provide those incentives, as the Member said. They'll look...
Jeremy Miles: The Welsh Government is working with Health Education and Improvement Wales to review the NHS Wales bursary scheme. We recognise the impact of increasing costs of living on healthcare professional students and we're working to identify immediate actions that could provide additional support.
Jeremy Miles: I thank Rhianon Passmore for that important question. I think there'll be a number of positive consequences in the lives of these young learners and their families. The first, immediate effect will be to contribute to alleviating, to some extent, aspects of the cost-of-living pressures that families are under. If you like, I think a longer term benefit will be both to be able to transform the...
Jeremy Miles: Sorry, I just want to be clear: authorities are not struggling to deliver on this policy. They've worked incredibly hard to make sure—
Jeremy Miles: They've worked incredibly hard to make sure that as many young people as possible are able to benefit from this policy, in accordance with a very, very short time frame, and that applies to all authorities in Wales. As I say, where there are a small number of schools that need still to make some infrastructure changes, they are complying with the policy in a different way: so, for example,...
Jeremy Miles: [Inaudible.]—that Sarah Murphy raises, Dirprwy Lywydd. And the question with which any Government in this situation wrestles, really, is, given the scale of the cost-of-living challenge that families are facing, there is a high premium on rolling out as much as possible across the system as quickly as possible. And that, at the end of the day, was the judgment that we reached, and,...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Heledd Fychan for those questions. This does demonstrate the benefits of co-operation. This is one element of policy where both parties had a shared priority and could reach agreement on this in the co-operation agreement that we have. And I also agree that this is a first step; we all want to see the policy extended as best we can. It's not fair to say that some authorities are...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Laura Anne Jones for those three questions, and for her support for the policy. In relation to the first question on capital investment, she'll have heard me say that there has been a significant programme of investment in infrastructure upgrades. A lot of that has happened over the course of the summer, and the overall budget committed to that has now been increased to £60 million....
Jeremy Miles: Dirprwy Lywydd, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our local authority colleagues, as well as schools across Wales, for working with us to achieve this first milestone. It has taken significant partnership working and a team Wales approach, which is already benefiting thousands of pupils and immediately putting money back into their families' pockets. We've worked at pace to...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Llywydd. I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge yesterday's events and to pass on my deepest sympathy to the royal family. Our programme for government is clear: we will maximise fairness for all and eliminate inequality at every level of society. Wales will be a country where nobody is held back and nobody is left behind. Within education, our ambition to help realise...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Llywydd. These regulations allow the Welsh Language Commissioner to consider where the bodies are on their language journey before imposing final standards upon them, thereby considering what is reasonable to expect, but also to improve Welsh language services to the public. The main aim is to ensure practical, daily use of the Welsh language in our communities. These bodies have...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Llywydd. I move the motion on the Welsh Language Standards (No. 8) Regulations 2022. The regulations allow the Welsh Language Commissioner to impose standards on nine UK bodies in the health sector—eight professional regulatory bodies and the Professional Standards Authority. One hundred and twenty bodies are already captured under standards, including health boards and health...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for that question and that invitation, which I'd be happy to accept. Meurig in his comments at the awards on Sunday was very clear about the need for making sure that every single child in Wales that would like to have access to Welsh education has that, and I certainly share that ambition, as I know does Huw Irranca-Davies as well.
Jeremy Miles: Well, I agree with the Member's last sentiment, certainly, and that is the underlying principle behind the entire enterprise that we're engaged in in relation to the Welsh in education strategic plans. I note the Member has got his disappointment in early. I think perhaps the other way of looking at this is that each authority, including Bridgend, has agreed to an ambitious plan. But, as I...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Vikki Howells for that question, and it is something that I know she feels passionately about, and we've discussed this issue one-to-one outside this Chamber as well. She is right to say that it is very important to ensure that the provision that we have for the early years allows and encourages parents to choose education in all periods for their children through the medium of Welsh....
