Russell George: ...years ago, in November 2013, the Active Travel (Wales) Act became law. The Act was intended to create a generational change, and transform the way we travel on essential journeys, to work and to school, making walking and cycling the norm. The reasons for doing this I think are clear: active travel promotes better health, reduces pollution and congestion. In fact, the committee has had...
Russell George: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your answer. NASUWT have condemned the pupil funding gap, which currently stands at nearly £700 per pupil compared to maintained schools in England. Can I ask what you're doing to address the funding gap, which, according to the union, is having the effect of, and I quote here, 'the narrowing of the curriculum in some schools and the loss of talented...
Russell George: 6. How is the Welsh Government supporting education in Powys? OAQ52399
Russell George: .... I've received a large number of concerns from parents in this regard, and there was a public meeting in Machynlleth on this matter on Monday evening. Of course, parents are concerned about the educational outcomes of their children. So, essentially, the English stream is being removed from the school for this particular year group, and is being done so without full formal public...
Russell George: 3. What measures has the Welsh Government taken to improve educational standards in Montgomeryshire? OAQ52212
Russell George: ...is not really of concern to me or the committee; the issue is a growing perception in Wales that Wales is lagging behind. I would urge the Minister for skills and, indeed, the Cabinet Secretary for Education to bring their influence to bear so that Wales picks up the pace when it comes to degree apprenticeships. Our final recommendation was that Estyn should consider how best to include in...
Russell George: ...routes. So, I think there is a strong and compelling moral case for the Welsh Government to apply similar levels of support to apprentices as would be available to their peers in full-time higher education. In adverts to promote its new package of measures for university students, the Welsh Government has declared it to be the most generous student support package in the UK and level of...
Russell George: .... Now, the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations provides support themselves for a range of community transport schemes operating across Powys. There are Dial-a-Ride operations, school contracts, community car schemes, taxi card schemes and minibus hire for third-party sectors. Certainly, Dial-a-Ride as well—a number of trustees operating Dial-a-Ride services have been in...
Russell George: 4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the education improvement grant for schools? OAQ51839
Russell George: ..., the mayor of the west midlands, as a good example of this. So, in this regard, what do you intend to do to work with your Cabinet colleagues to increase the levels of active travel programmes in schools and workplaces to support behavioural change so that schools and employees can drive the change that is needed for people to embrace active travel?
Russell George: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on how the Welsh Government is seeking to improve educational outcomes for learners in mid-Wales?
Russell George: As I understand it, First Minister, different local authorities across Wales use different payment methods, which does sometimes cause a problem when children move schools. I wonder if you believe that there is rationale in standardising payment methods across Wales.
Russell George: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the education improvement grant for schools?
Russell George: ...agree with. I also very much agree that it's very important to celebrate and encourage younger people when they start up in business themselves. I certainly am a big fan of role models going into schools to tell younger people about the positive life option available to them of self-employment and running their own business. With regard to Plaid's amendment, I was originally a little bit...
Russell George: ...while out working for hours in the fields leads to lost time in contacting colleagues and the health and safety aspect is very worrying with one fatality a week in agriculture at the moment. The school buses which travel along the valley find it worrying that if they have a breakdown they are unable to leave the bus with 70 pupils onboard to get help. Villagers have been trying to get...
Russell George: ...also suffered the uncertainty of not knowing whether their tuition fees will be rising yet again—and this, of course, has compounded the concerns of younger people regarding the costs of higher education. Therefore, our green card scheme that we have proposed could lift the barrier to accessing education and training for jobs for many people in Wales. Indeed, this is an issue that faces...
Russell George: ...to respond in one of two ways: either to attempt to maintain service frequency with the associated increase in costs or to operate fewer services. Our bus services transport people to work and to education, connect communities, support our economy and help to make our country greener by reducing the number of private cars on our roads. They’re a vital lifeline for about a quarter of...
Russell George: I’d like to contribute today to this debate very much focusing on higher education and lifelong learning and how that links in with the Welsh economy. But there are two things I would be very keen to know today, and this is one: what course is Darren Millar doing? He told us he’s doing a part-time FE course; he didn’t tell us what he was doing. And, secondly, I would like to know from...
Russell George: Minister, ‘cylch meithrin’ and pre-school playgroups are already oversubscribed, and there is a real concern that, when the new school admissions policy in Powys comes into force in September, the pressure on playgroups will be unsustainable. Can I ask what the Welsh Government is doing to support the additional pressures on these playgroups?
Russell George: ...a long-awaited broadband upgrade. However, the ‘Evaluation of the implementation of the Learning in Digital Wales Programme’, which was published six months ago, noted that nearly a third of schools did not register any log-ins on Hwb, and made a series of recommendations for the Welsh Government to improve this, including developing a communications strategy targeted at teachers and...
