Siân Gwenllian: One way of dealing with prejudice is by allowing refugees to play an active part in communities and the workplaces around them. And to do that, of course, they have to be able to get fluency in both languages of our nation, both Welsh and English. Families from Syria who have been welcomed to my area have had an opportunity to make swift progress in acquiring language skills, and recently I...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you. Yesterday, we had a statement from you on Wales as a nation of sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers, and I responded to the debate expressing Plaid Cymru’s support for that ambition. I also highlighted one of the major challenges, namely the prejudice that exists towards refugees and asylum seekers, and the misinformation that is distributed. I called for a constructive...
Siân Gwenllian: The aim of creating a nation of sanctuary in Wales is one that Plaid Cymru supports, of course, and supports fully and is campaigning for, but I do think it's important to recognise that there are a number of barriers in trying to deliver that ambition. Many of those barriers emerge from the way in which the public debate on migration has far too often been steered by prejudice,...
Siân Gwenllian: Job sharing has clear advantages in providing opportunities for women with caring responsibilities—caring for young children or for older members of the family. As women still make up the majority of carers, creating opportunities to combine caring responsibilities with work as an Assembly Member could lead to increasing the number of women represented here at the Assembly. Job sharing...
Siân Gwenllian: ‘Enabling candidates standing for the same party or as independents to stand for election on the basis of job sharing arrangements could lead to an increase in the diversity of representation within the Assembly. The flexibility to stand on the basis of job sharing could be particularly beneficial for older candidates, those with disabilities, or those with caring responsibilities.’...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. The subject is whether allowing Assembly Members to job-share would lead to the creation of a gender-balanced Assembly and one that is more representative of the population as a whole. I’m very pleased to lead this debate this afternoon. Jane Hutt and Julie Morgan are eager to contribute too, and I look forward to hearing their contributions. A few weeks ago, I led a...
Siân Gwenllian: The well-being and education of our pupils in schools across Wales should be at the forefront of our minds in this Assembly. Now, schools in Wales have faced a challenging financial situation for a number of years, and have already made great savings. The leaders and the staff in schools have done their best and made the best of a very difficult situation to safeguard the education and...
Siân Gwenllian: Well, let us move on from the question of cost for the time being, and turn to one of the questions I asked you when you were appointed as Cabinet Secretary for local government. That question was what kind of style you were going to adopt in dealing with local government. It may be true that we haven’t seen quite the level of argument and contention in the media between yourself and local...
Siân Gwenllian: How much will it cost to halve the number of councils in Wales?
Siân Gwenllian: I don’t think that answers my question, and to be honest, it is a briefer response than I got from the First Minister the other day when I asked the same question. But, the answer I got was just as lacking in substance as that one, and I have to say that attempts by Ministers, time and time again, to refuse to answer simple questions is an insult to this Assembly. Work has been done on the...
Siân Gwenllian: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the effectiveness of the planning system in protecting and developing the Welsh language?
Siân Gwenllian: In my constituency in Arfon, we have three successful community hydroelectricity schemes, with plans in the pipeline for further initiatives. These are exactly the kinds of initiatives that need support, and establishing the Ynni Cymru company, as recommended Plaid Cymru today, could give a significant boost to this sector, on top of the other benefits that have been outlined. The community...
Siân Gwenllian: There was a feast of Welsh last week as competitors at the Urdd Eisteddfod came together to celebrate their Welsh identity—young people from all parts of Wales: learners and first-language speakers. And what united them was confidence—confidence in the Welsh language and confidence in their Welsh identity. I think that confidence is crucial for the future of the Welsh language, and that...
Siân Gwenllian: One of the main arguments made by your Government over the need to reform local government in the way proposed in the Green Paper is the need to ensure financial sustainability of councils for the future. Council leaders the length and breadth of Wales of all political hues have strongly questioned whether merging councils would save money. So, on the basis of that, what financial assessment...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much. In 2014, the training courses for occupational therapists came to an end at Bangor University and, as a result, Wrexham is now serving the whole of north Wales. Now, there is a recruitment problem in the north-west, and as you know, there is evidence demonstrating that students tend to remain in the areas where they trained, and that is one of the many reasons why Plaid...
Siân Gwenllian: 2. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on training occupational therapists in north Wales? OAQ52243
Siân Gwenllian: Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on implementing the recommendations of the review of Welsh in education strategic plans?
Siân Gwenllian: Okay. Just one sentence on that: that can’t be empty rhetoric—we need a detailed action plan on all of those aspects. So, the question is: what difference do you expect to see in light of the introduction of the transformed sex education?
Siân Gwenllian: I too welcome this statement today. Creating a new way of introducing sex, sexuality and relationships education is an important positive step forward, and I congratulate you personally for driving this agenda forward with energy. I agree entirely with you that the emphasis needs to be on healthy relationships as well as the other aspects, and I also agree that children at the age of five are...
Siân Gwenllian: I am talking about a strategic plan across Government—an overview across Government with clear targets on tackling poverty. Now, I recognise that there's a child poverty strategy but, of course, children are part of families and we need a strategy to tackle poverty that is over and above that. There isn't one, and it's scandalous that there isn't one.
