Siân Gwenllian: As we’ve already heard, the context of this inquiry by the committee was the Welsh Government’s intention in the summer of 2017 to legislate anew with regard to the Welsh language, and to do so barely 18 months after the 2011 Welsh language Measure had started to embed. So, Plaid Cymru was very pleased that common sense had prevailed, and ultimately the proposals were set aside. The...
Siân Gwenllian: Members will be aware that I have been asking questions about the dental situation in my constituency of Arfon on a number of occasions, and it is a very grave situation indeed. There are six practitioners in the constituency, but none of them are taking NHS patients. They’re not taking adults on the NHS, they’re not taking children on the NHS and they’re not taking children and young...
Siân Gwenllian: Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's position on private schools?
Siân Gwenllian: Excellent. I’m extremely pleased to hear that last answer, certainly. Turning to another issue, which is transportation-to-school policy, in response to points raised by Llyr Gruffydd last week, the Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language stated that there would be a refresh of the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008, and that we can expect that in the autumn. There are...
Siân Gwenllian: Okay. Well, it’ll be very interesting to hear the debate, or it would be very interesting if we were able to hear the discussion in Cabinet with your fellow Labour members on that issue, where there has been clear guidance provided by their conference. So, it was interesting to hear your response there. Labour too would campaign to abolish the charitable status of private schools, and I...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you, Llywydd. The Labour Party has said that they will abolish private schools, redistributing their properties to the state. A motion was passed in their conference to integrate private schools into the state sector. Now, given that only 2.2 per cent of Welsh children are educated in private schools, do you agree that it would be a relatively simple matter to move immediately to...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. There's no doubt that the childcare funding legislation was very contentious from the outset, for the reason that it didn't include every child. Children whose parents were in education or training or who were unemployed didn't qualify. Therefore, Plaid Cymru voted against the legislation. We felt that it was entirely unfair that families earning up to £200,000 per annum...
Siân Gwenllian: The target of a million Welsh speakers will never be achieved, of course, unless we create a revolution within the Welsh-medium education system. At the moment it is entirely deficient, despite great growth in demand, as we have seen in Merthyr this week, where there is no Welsh-medium secondary school despite the demand. And then one sees the situation with Bridgend council, which is...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you. I’m sure you would agree that, in accordance with the spirit of the million Welsh speakers strategy, we need to move away from this old-fashioned, simplistic system of noting linguistic requirements to posts where the Welsh language is either essential or desirable, moving to a more meaningful system that notes the skills level required from one to five, and making courtesy level...
Siân Gwenllian: There was a discussion on this subject yesterday, if you remember, and I must say that I was stunned that the First Minister missed the point entirely. The totally unacceptable situation is that there's an anomaly in the system, which means that a great number of second-home owners avoid paying taxes. They don’t pay council tax, and neither do they pay business rates, as they act as a...
Siân Gwenllian: Despite the picture that you—
Siân Gwenllian: Despite the picture that you paint of the situation in terms of the UK, it’s the responsibility of the Government here to set priorities within its own budget. And you will be aware that the Children, Young People and Education Committee suggested strongly that there needs to be a balance of expenditure towards preventative spend, with education and schools as a central part of that....
Siân Gwenllian: 5. Will the Minister give an update on Welsh Government plans for second homes taxes? OAQ54333
Siân Gwenllian: Plaid Cymru supports the general principles of the children (Wales) Bill before us today, and, as a member of the children and young people committee, I have had numerous opportunities to listen carefully to the arguments for and against the introduction of a Bill of this kind, and I have been convinced entirely that children in Wales can only benefit as a result of this minor legislative...
Siân Gwenllian: Before the summer recess, there was a commitment from you, and I quote, that 'there'll be a debate on 'Designed to Smile: 10 years of improving children's oral health in Wales' on the first day back in September'. Well, today is that first day back and there is no debate. I know that the health committee is to bring a debate forward at the beginning of next month, but the Government has...
Siân Gwenllian: It's important that today we explain how dangerous and objectionable Johnson's act in proroguing the UK Parliament was at a period of such crisis, and it's also important that we state how damaging to Wales a 'no deal' Brexit would be. But we can do more than simply express our views, because there is also an opportunity today to discuss a way forward through all of this confusion. I believe...
Siân Gwenllian: We heard last year that the children’s commissioner was extremely critical that no child impact assessments were made on current budgetary proposals, and that is contrary, of course, to article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which makes it a requirement for all levels of government to act in a way that is consistent with the convention. The convention states that you need...
Siân Gwenllian: 'children’s rights appear to be an "add-on" within this budget',
Siân Gwenllian: rather than children’s rights being part of the analysis from the very outset, and that then leading to budgetary decisions. Now that the Government has committed to collaborating with the children’s commissioner, which is excellent as a starting point, that work of setting the budget for 2020-21 has to happen swiftly, and the commissioner has mentioned that she expects to see a...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. Perhaps I’ll start by responding to that last comment and the fact that you had said, David Rowlands, before the whole Assembly today that your mum indeed had suffered as a result of the historic issues that were happening in our schools, where people were punished physically for speaking Welsh. I’m still incensed about that, but one turns that anger into constructive...
