Rhianon Passmore: In terms of today of all days—for the Tories to talk about u-turns when the budget surplus is suddenly no longer necessary for austerity. But there we are. I digress. Right. I want to welcome strongly today’s statement from the Cabinet Secretary and the positive co-constructive approach with stakeholders pan Wales today, which outlines new ways of working, further clarity and further...
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you for that answer. Obviously, the First Minister’s mentioned the fact that the Welsh ambulance service has responded, again, to almost 81 per cent of the most life-threatening calls in eight minutes or less in August and in doing so has met the target for the eleventh successive month. That is a huge testimony to our Welsh ambulance staff. So, would the First Minister state the...
Rhianon Passmore: 9. Will the First Minister provide an update on the performance of the Welsh ambulance service? OAQ(5)0185(FM)
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you—I won’t say ‘Llywydd’—Deputy Presiding—?
Rhianon Passmore: Acting—okay, thank you. Firstly, I’d also like to thank you, Vikki. As a former teacher, I’m grateful to the Member for Cynon Valley for raising this important issue, and I fully support the Welsh Government’s commitment to promoting outdoor education throughout the foundation phase. In my constituency, it’s amazing facilities such as the Cwmcarn Forest Drive and Ynys Hywel Outdoor...
Rhianon Passmore: Could you clarify your position through this motion in terms of Welsh-medium grammar schools?
Rhianon Passmore: Will you take an intervention?
Rhianon Passmore: Okay. The question that I would put to those clamouring for a return to selection is: do you really want to segregate the pupils of Wales? The answer is clear: you wish to segregate and separate the children of Wales. I strongly oppose this motion.
Rhianon Passmore: I’m sorry, I won’t. And further, that its record of admitting children from non-middle-class backgrounds was ‘pretty woeful’. We’ve heard those words already—pretty woeful. I know that the members of UKIP would like us to live in Michael Gove’s world and his parallel universe. That former Tory education Secretary declared earlier this year, ‘I think people in this country have...
Rhianon Passmore: This motion truly does go to the heart of what UKIP is really about, which is selection and segregation. Circular 10/65 is an important landmark that shaped education in this country in the second half of the twentieth century. Fifty-one years later, it still stands as one of the defining progressive achievements of the radical 1964-1970 Wilson Labour Government, and we will talk about a few...
Rhianon Passmore: Will you take an intervention?
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you. So, are you actually saying that, post Brexit negotiations, our farmers in Wales will be better off?
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. The internal market in the NHS in England has been estimated to cost up to £10 billion a year. Would you agree with me that the Welsh Labour Government commitment to having no internal market in the Welsh NHS has been of tremendous benefit for patients, and that it is a commitment that will continue?
Rhianon Passmore: 8. Will the First Minister make a statement on how the Welsh NHS maintains the principle of being free at the point of care? OAQ(5)0134(FM)
Rhianon Passmore: Let us be in no doubt that the BBC is held in high regard by the Welsh public. In its final annual review of BBC Wales’s output, Audience Council Wales—the ACW—stated that three in five people, which is 62 per cent, in Wales, ‘feel the TV licence fee offers value for money, while more than four in five people in Wales would miss the BBC if it was not there’. That is 83 per cent....
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you for that. The most recent school census shows the average infant class size in Wales was 25.4 pupils. What action will the Welsh Government take to ensure that infant class sizes in Islwyn are reduced to 25, as reducing infant class sizes is an important issue for parents and can have a positive effect on teachers’ workload? And when does the Cabinet Secretary believe the target...
Rhianon Passmore: Harold Wilson used to say that a week is a long time in politics. Well, it seems like a political lifetime ago, as has already been referenced, when the Queen’s Speech was delivered to Parliament on 18 May 2016. Outside of the many economic, trade and societal issues we now face, it is inevitable for Wales that attention focuses now on the Wales Bill. There is no doubt that the new Bill is...
Rhianon Passmore: 2. Will the Minister outline the percentage of pupils in infant classes of over 30 pupils in Islwyn? OAQ(5)0009(EDU)
Rhianon Passmore: I’ll be brief. Thank you. The Valleys communities have indeed borne the brunt of the impact of Tory recessions and Tory economic downturns, without a doubt. Swingeing welfare cuts have already been discussed. In my community, the immoral acts within the bedroom tax have caused huge and great disadvantage. In terms of cutting straight to a question—thank you, acting Presiding...
Rhianon Passmore: Thank you, First Minister, for that answer. Since 2007, EU projects have created 11,900 enterprises and some 37,000 jobs. This EU funding has helped 72,700 people into work, helped more than 229,000 gain qualifications, and has funded 56,000 people into further learning since 2007. Under the current £1.8 billion EU-supported programmes, more than £700 million of EU structural funding has...
