Gareth Bennett: ...than what the public think about it. This is why UKIP supports the public consultation and is therefore happy to support today's motion. But we do feel that the consultation should act as a way of educating the Welsh electorate about these proposed changes, the biggest of which, we believe, is the proposed expansion of the Assembly. We think that this is such a major issue that the...
Gareth Bennett: .... I noted today that, currently, on Darlows' website, there are no fewer than 185 leasehold properties on offer in Cardiff alone. A significant problem is that many first-time buyers lack financial education of the sort that is needed when they enter the world of property purchasing. This is something of a failing of the education system, which is sometimes too academic in nature and...
Gareth Bennett: ...that the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers are currently calling for. So, would you be minded now to think about a standard approach to monitoring levels of violence in schools?
Gareth Bennett: 2. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to reduce the risk of crime and violence in schools? OAQ51666
Gareth Bennett: .... Another question is: what particular safeguards are you going to bring in regarding e-voting? The issue of 16- and 17-year-olds—well, you had a little pop at Janet when she talked about the education system, but it's actually many of the young campaigners who want votes at 16 and 17 that have raised the issue of what they call 'unbiased political education'. So, they do seem to feel...
Gareth Bennett: ...on the use of public transport, and it is public transport that we are trying to encourage. What about its impact on active travel? Driverless cars could make it even easier for kids to get to school in a private car, since that car might not even have to be driven by time-pressured parents. So, I think that these are things that we do have to bear in mind as we go forward with considering...
Gareth Bennett: Many employers feel young people leave the education system today lacking the practical skills they need for the labour market. Many people have degrees, for instance, but are not regarded by employers as being work-ready. Do you think that the university system in Wales could do with a shake up?
Gareth Bennett: ...the whole of Wales and I think there are potential problems when you come up with the issue of compulsion. So, if we refer to the recent example that we debated a few weeks ago of the Llangennech school saga, there was plenty of evidence that the majority of the community there was against the proposal to turn a dual-stream primary school into a Welsh-medium one. Now, you could argue, as...
Gareth Bennett: .... I would say this skills shortage, combined with our latent labour force, could provide a perfect opportunity to reinvigorate apprenticeships and relieve the problem of NEETs—young people not in education, employment or training. It could, in other words, be an opportunity rather than a problem. Some of the skills shortages highlighted in their joint paper are decidedly odd. For...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks for that. There seems to be a problem developing with school lollipop staff, or road-crossing assistants as they’re sometimes known, because the number has decreased by 23 per cent over the past three years. There isn’t currently any legal duty for councils to keep the crossing assistants, but, of course, they are needed to keep a perception of safe routes and will assist with...
Gareth Bennett: ...for bringing the debate today. I’m not on any of the committees that scrutinised this Bill, and the issues that are being raised have been raised by my colleague Michelle Brown, who’s on the education committee and who can’t be here today. In principle, we do support the Bill. Introducing IDPs, providing it’s done properly, is a good idea. However, to ensure consistency across...
Gareth Bennett: ...contributors have generally agreed on today, we do need a joined-up approach. It probably does require a comprehensive response that would be timely, as the NSPCC have asked for. I’m aware that schools and local authorities have put measures in place in some areas, and I’m sure the Minister will give us more information and an update on that. Of course, the problem with this issue is...
Gareth Bennett: ...community activity groups is a very important part of the fabric of our society. I’m sure there are such groups in everyone’s constituencies and regions. In my region, there’s Cardiff Riding School, for instance, located in Pontcanna fields, surrounded by 35 acres of parkland. The school first opened in 1970 and is owned and operated by Cardiff council as part of their leisure...
Gareth Bennett: There’s currently a shortage of skills in the construction industry, so I wondered if the programme of vocational education puts any emphasis on teaching carpentry, bricklaying, and any of the other related skills that are needed in that industry.
Gareth Bennett: ...therefore to be upskilled if this prediction is in any way accurate. More vocational training, I would suggest, would help. So, would you agree that we need to move away from a blanket approach to education in Wales? Do we need to look at the effectiveness, for instance, of the comprehensive school system? Driverless cars are mentioned. Now, this completely mystifies me. I know that we are...
Gareth Bennett: ...generated when two separate political objectives come into conflict with one another. One of the objectives is the Welsh Government’s aim of achieving 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, in which education will play a crucial part, as Darren Millar articulated. The second objective, or perhaps I should say principle, is the principle of parental choice. Now, in the Welsh Government’s...
Gareth Bennett: Despite the twenty-first century schools programme, difficulties do still arise with older schools in need of repair. We had a rather ludicrous situation this winter, when 1,400 pupils from three Cardiff secondary schools were being ferried out to places like the Motorpoint Arena, the SWALEC stadium, county hall and Barry College for lessons. This did cause considerable disruption. Does the...
Gareth Bennett: We had a petition delivered to the Assembly last year by a pupil at Treorchy comprehensive in the Rhondda. This petition was calling for rail travel to and from school to be restored—free rail travel, I should say—by Arriva Trains, who had decided to end the scheme. With the rail franchise up for renewal next year, I wondered if thought might be given by the Government to giving Arriva a...
Gareth Bennett: Will the First Minister make a statement on the 21st Century Schools Programme in South Wales Central?
Gareth Bennett: ...with time, with staffing levels, and with money, so it will still be a big job to effectively implement this Act. I welcome the committee’s desire to introduce healthy relationships teaching at schools, but, again, this raises issues of time and expense on already time-pressured curriculums. Also, we should be mindful of a point that has been made in the Chamber recently, which is that...
