Siân Gwenllian: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. There is huge concern, of course, about the increasing levels of children in care in Wales, to such an extent that it formed a large part of the Thomas report, looking at the justice system. In that report, they highlight the fact that the percentage of children receiving care in Wales is quite a bit higher than in England and Northern Ireland, and we...
Siân Gwenllian: It's astonishing that you don't have, as a Government, detailed national data on the number of people who are waiting for social housing in Wales. Given that this is one of your priorities, namely, providing more social housing, how are you monitoring that your policies are effective if you don't know exactly what is the position? In Arfon, I know that there are too many people waiting for...
Siân Gwenllian: 2. How many people are on waiting lists for social housing throughout Wales? OAQ55160
Siân Gwenllian: Will the First Minister make a statement on how regional capital expenditure is allocated?
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you for confirming that the board will be holding an internal review of the very grave and concerning problems that have arisen as a result of the restructuring of vascular services. But, First Minister, an internal review is not good enough. People in north Wales have lost all confidence in the managers of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, whilst, of course, appreciating the...
Siân Gwenllian: 5. Will the First Minister make a statement on the safety of vascular services in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board since they were restructured? OAQ55124
Siân Gwenllian: Certainly, we are pleased to see these targets being put in place. It's something that we've been calling for for some time, and we do see it as a positive step forward. I would like an assurance from you that you will be monitoring delivery against that target. Perhaps you can confirm today that you will have a system to monitor progress so that the target is truly meaningful. You have now...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much, and I do look forward to seeing the upshot of that work, because the teachers are our most important, valuable asset in our schools, of course. Given the million Welsh speakers strategy and the importance of Welsh-medium education to the success of that particular aim, the recruitment of teachers who can teach through the medium of Welsh is a specific concern, isn't it?...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you, Llywydd. We are aware that recruitment and retention of teachers is a challenge in Wales, and in other nations too, and there are a number of reasons behind this, and we need to tackle the problem in a number of different ways. Welsh Government statistics show that 40 per cent less than the target set for trainees in the secondary sector are in place, for example, and recent...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much for the statement. I agree entirely with what you say, namely that language transmission is one of the most important elements of language planning. In March 2017, myself and Plaid Cymru published this, which is 'Reaching the Million, which was commissioned by Iaith, the language planning centre, one of the main policy and independent language planning agencies in Wales....
Siân Gwenllian: Formally.
Siân Gwenllian: Formally.
Siân Gwenllian: My great-grandfather was a quarryman in Cilgwyn in Dyffryn Nantlle, so I'm very proud to support the bid to secure UNESCO world heritage site status for the slate-quarrying areas of north-west Wales. Growing up in Felinheli in the 1960s, I was highly aware of the decline of an industry that, at one time, sent slate to all parts of the world. The old dock had dilapidated, and now only the...
Siân Gwenllian: I feel passionately about this, as you know, but the question is: what other changes, apart from the taxation changes, could your Government consider implementing in order to resolve this problem?
Siân Gwenllian: There are broader issues than just the impact within the taxation system. But we do need a resolution to that, and the WLGA agrees with us that changing section 66 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 is the way forward. So, it's not just on these benches that are talking about this; the WLGA, representing all Welsh councils, has also said that we need to amend that legislation as a...
Siân Gwenllian: 4. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of a high percentage of second homes on housing need within communities? OAQ55005
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you for the statement. Now, throughout all of this, there is one particular question that constantly arises in my mind, and that is a question on funding: how can you reconcile the Government's current budget for the Welsh language for the next financial year with the ambition in the 'Cymraeg 2050' strategy? Although various Ministers have contradicted each other, as we understand it,...
Siân Gwenllian: This afternoon I would like to pursue two specific issues—these issues won't be new to you; I have raised them in the past—first of all, implementing the new curriculum. Your statement today does acknowledge, of course, that implementing the change is the major challenge, and that there is international evidence that demonstrates that that has been clear in other scenarios. And the other...
Siân Gwenllian: Given the budgetary processes going on in local authorities across Wales at the moment and the further threat to transport for post-16 learners in those budgets, can we have an update on the review of learner travel in the post-16 sector, the review announced on 13 November? And can you also ask the Minister or the Deputy Minister with responsibility for this area to outline the rationale for...
Siân Gwenllian: Excellent. I'm very pleased to hear that, and that you commissioned that work and that that will include some legislative work, because what we do know is that there is a very real potential for us to lose many of the rights—workers' rights, women's rights, the rights of disabled people and so on—as we leave the European Union. And I believe that, in the summer, the Counsel General,...
