Suzy Davies: I don't think that the childcare offer, in and of itself, can explain the disparity in the gender pay gap between different local authority areas in Wales. At one end of the spectrum, we've got Anglesey, with a 25.5 per cent gender pay gap for the residents in its catchment area there, followed closely by the Vale of Glamorgan, your own constituency—23.4 per cent. But at the other end of...
Suzy Davies: Well, as you say, residents, teachers and pupils have been fighting Swansea Council's decision to close Craigcefnparc Primary School as well, and I've been very proud to support them in that fight. As part of the fight for both schools, actually, I've asked the Children's Commissioner for Wales and the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales about how and when their expectations should be...
Suzy Davies: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Well, it's February, and tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and we'll be awash with love hearts, as everyone will know, but the hearts I want to talk about are the hearts that give us life and to remind everyone that it's Defibruary as well as just February. Automated emergency defibrillators or AEDs can easily be used when someone has suffered a cardiac arrest. People...
Suzy Davies: Of course, this question isn't just about international relations, it's about the Welsh language as well, and we're not unique or the only country having more than one indigenous language. Can you tell me whether any impact assessments have been done about the effects of Brexit on how we engage with programmes in the EU at the moment on supporting minority languages within a range of...
Suzy Davies: Obviously, we're still waiting with bated breath to know whether Ineos will be bringing its new vehicle to Bridgend, perhaps, rather than Portugal. But it was concerning to hear the other day that, even if this work does come to the UK, it may not be enough to save the Ford plant; it's a plant, of course, that, being Ford, is also affected by the decision of the United States President and...
Suzy Davies: Tourism is one of those parts of our economy where there is still plenty of scope for expansion, particularly for small enterprises. Actually, I'm just thinking of the Afan Valley, as it was David Rees who asked the question originally. A huge scope here for our indigenous businesses to grow here. Unfortunately, of course, some of our small businesses don't see themselves as part of our...
Suzy Davies: You've predicted what I'm about to say next, David. Because, in the meantime, the sector will want to know what all the actors in this space can do to overcome the fact that they're paying twice as much for their electricity as French steel makers. So, I'm actually really encouraged that Tata's taking a lead on this—already some distance down the recycling of energy within the plant itself,...
Suzy Davies: Can I just being by saying I absolutely agree with you that we have the best steelworkers in the world here and they deserve the attention that we're giving them now? Because we're talking about a foundational industry for the UK economy, particularly for Wales, particularly for my region, and while we now recognise maybe the dangers of entire communities relying on one industry, such as in...
Suzy Davies: Thank you for your question, David, because I'm thinking once again of the role of co-responders, which I've raised in the Chamber a number of times. They are obviously well equipped to deal with a quick response to precisely this sort of situation that David Rees has mentioned there. They have a huge role to play in the efficiency of emergency response, and the row about how that service is...
Suzy Davies: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Minister, in questions following your statement on the education White Paper last week, you observed that, and I quote: 'the focus tends to go onto qualifications'. And, hopefully, your announcement on a single Welsh language curriculum will actually lead, in time, to better exam-based Welsh language attainment as well, but to the increasing use in all settings of the...
Suzy Davies: Yes, and I hope we would all like to join in congratulating those schools who find that they are no longer in need of support; as you say, the purpose of categorisation is to identify whether schools need extra support. In view of some of the GCSE and A-level results we saw this year, though, and the revised figures on the attainment gap between children eligible for free school meals and...
Suzy Davies: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on the categorisation of schools? OAQ53376
Suzy Davies: Thank you very much, and that brings today's proceedings to a close. Thank you.
Suzy Davies: Thank you, and I call on the Minister for Finance and the Trefnydd to reply to the debate—Rebecca Evans.
Suzy Davies: Thank you for that, because we all want to see children who move into Wales still benefiting from similar services to those that I mentioned, and it has different impacts in different parts of Wales, of course, but in Gwynedd specifically, it is hugely important that children can acquire the skills that they need in accessing education there. If I can just turn now to another issue, at a...
Suzy Davies: I’m sorry, Minister, it isn’t at all clear what 'teaching English' means in the new system. Because, as we heard from Dai Lloyd yesterday, we aren’t aware of nurseries that teach English at the moment. They use English for the sake of the well-being of children, but they don’t teach English, so I do think that we need some clarity around that issue for the future. If I can remain on...
Suzy Davies: Thank you, Llywydd. Well, I’d like to start with the issue of teaching English in Welsh-medium settings for very young children too, because you may not be directly responsible for education but you are responsible for the target of a million Welsh speakers. And we heard yesterday that English is already being used in some of the early years settings and foundation phase settings, and I...
Suzy Davies: I was disappointed with the beginning of that answer, I have to say, Trefnydd. With so many bank closures, we are relying on post offices for access to cash now. Can you clarify whether the post office charges banks for the service that people can use there, or, possibly, is the charge the other way round? Does the post office charge the bank or does the bank charge the post office? And is...
Suzy Davies: So, we're talking now about what will be effective to deliver this in a way that helps us raise rounded citizens who can achieve for themselves and their country, which is why I wanted to ask, really, why the word 'responsibility' has only appeared once in what our young people will achieve through the six areas of learning, because I think it's great to see words like 'confidence' and...
Suzy Davies: Can I thank you, Minister? You're quite right, this is going to be a sea change for Wales, but there's always a risk with a sea change that people might end up drowning. And while, of course, you have the full general principle policy support of everybody in this Chamber, I hope, the big test of all this is going to be what is deliverable practically, and will it deliver the results that we...
