Siân Gwenllian: I met yesterday with the contractors for this programme—Jones Brothers and Balfour Beatty—and they are hugely concerned that no date has been announced for a public inquiry. That, in turn, will lead to a delay unless moves are made very shortly in that regard. The proposal has already been delayed by 12 months, as you will well know, because of arguments about bats. Certainly we don’t...
Siân Gwenllian: There’s been a great deal of talk of the possibility that the attendance allowance is to be devolved to Wales from Westminster. Some 100,000 people in Wales receive this benefit at a cost of some £400 million per annum. Now, if these benefits are devolved to Wales, we will then have to decide what the role of local authorities will be. Plaid Cymru, of course, always welcomes additional...
Siân Gwenllian: 7. Will the First Minister provide an update on plans for the Caernarfon/Bontnewydd bypass? OAQ(5)0367(FM)[W]
Siân Gwenllian: There are some general concerns about the future of the HE sector in Wales, not only as the result of Brexit, of course; the sustainability of the sector has been vulnerable for many years now. But, the implications of Brexit for our universities will mean that it is crucial that the Welsh Government and the UK Government do take action soon in order to safeguard the future of the sector. As...
Siân Gwenllian: You mentioned action there and the Welsh in education strategic plans are one way of taking action. These have now been introduced by all the education authorities in Wales, but apparently they are disappointing to say the least. I don’t need to remind you how crucial it is that we increase Welsh-medium education if we are to reach the ambition of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050. This was...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you. My questions are to the Minister for the Welsh language. Last Friday, you appeared on the media and said that you believed that the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 was too complex and that we needed to review the way that language standards are drawn up and implemented. Can you expand a little on that view?
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you. Of course, there is nothing wrong with looking at the way in which legislation is working and to simplify it if possible, but we must be guarded because, to date, there may be a question about the willingness and resolve of Government to implement the Measure. So, it’s important that the aim of any review is to simplify the implementation of the legislation rather than weakening...
Siân Gwenllian: There is another way of looking at this, of course, and there is a strong argument for restructuring the school year and distributing holidays in a more balanced way across the year. Doing so over the year, rather than having one big block over the summer, would assist in improving attainment levels within schools and make it easier for working parents. Many experts argue that children,...
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you. Plaid Cymru strongly believes that we must have social activity and economic prosperity in Welsh-speaking areas if the Welsh language is to be strengthened, and we believe in developing specific urban areas, such as the Menai area. Do you agree that we need to take all possible opportunities to create new national institutions in areas where the Welsh language is strong, as part of...
Siân Gwenllian: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on the importance of regional economic development in achieving the Government’s target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050? OAQ(5)0352(FM)[W]
Siân Gwenllian: A number of people have talked about the cost of evicting families from their homes, and just to summarise, moving families out of their homes is a very expensive thing. It costs more than £24 million a year in direct costs, let alone the indirect costs for the health service and the education service. That’s nearly £0.5 million a week that is spent on evicting people, and Plaid Cymru...
Siân Gwenllian: I do believe that this inquiry into human rights is crucial and very timely for the committee. This afternoon, I’d like to discuss one specific area of the inquiry that will need to be addressed in detail in my view, namely, equality between men and women. One of the fundamental objectives of the European Union is gender equality, and it is identified as a fundamental right within European...
Siân Gwenllian: Will the Minister provide an update on flood prevention plans in Arfon?
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I move the amendments. I also declare an interest as the mother of four young people who have paid a huge amount in letting fees over the years. Plaid Cymru is pleased to support this motion to abolish fees charged by letting agents. As you know, we introduced amendments to that end during the debate on the renting homes Bill. At that time, we were supported by...
Siân Gwenllian: A medical school for Bangor has been included as a high-level project in the north Wales growth bid, which has been agreed and supported by each of the six local authorities in north Wales. A letter that I received from you recently notes that you are expecting a briefing from officials on this issue. I note that the words ‘business case’ have disappeared from the letter, but that’s...
Siân Gwenllian: Last week, I visited a very prosperous small business in my constituency. They are trying to purchase the building that they lease from Welsh Government at present and they’re on an industrial estate at the edge of Caernarfon. They want to acquire the building in order to expand their business. The company that came to value the unit on behalf of the Government came from Bristol. Their...
Siân Gwenllian: 2. Will the Minister make a statement on the government’s efforts to support small businesses in Arfon? OAQ(5)0089(EI)[W]
Siân Gwenllian: 7. Will the Minister make a statement on the progress of the Bangor medical school plans? OAQ(5)0088(HWS)[W]
Siân Gwenllian: It’s important to discuss two areas where Plaid Cymru has had an influence on this budget: first of all the Welsh language, and additional funding for Welsh for adults, and funding to establish a national language agency. We secured an additional £5 million for 2017-18. Plaid Cymru believes that the Welsh language belongs to everyone in Wales, and we are committed therefore to ensuring...
Siân Gwenllian: My comments relate to section 2 of the motion, which refers to parking charges. Empty town centres and boarded-up shops are an all too familiar sight across Wales, despite attempts to liven things up with a little bit of tinsel and Christmas lights at this time of year. The decline of the high street across Wales reminds us that we need a strategy from the Government to support local...
