Llyr Gruffydd: An all-party group from north Wales heard from the Cabinet Secretary earlier this afternoon on this Government’s plans to create a series of transport hubs across north Wales and we welcome the investment of tens of millions of pounds in that infrastructure, but, simultaneously, a few weeks ago, we saw the publication of a report that Wales saw the biggest decrease in the number of miles...
Llyr Gruffydd: We know that the newspaper industry generally is contracting these days and that there is concern about the future of many titles and that much of the emphasis is on creating hyperlocal websites. But there are two areas in Wales that still see the value in their local weekly newspapers, and it shows that hyperlocal newsprint still survives and still thrives. Corwen Times and Y Cyfnod, which...
Llyr Gruffydd: I saw some recent reports that the red meat levy organisations in Britain were going to be sharing a fund of £2 million for marketing and research while a longer term solution to this saga of the red meat levy is resolved—at last, hopefully. I want to know because I have been raising this issue for many years. I’m sure you’re the fifth or the sixth Minister or Cabinet Secretary...
Llyr Gruffydd: What discussions has the Cabinet Secretary had with the UK Government regarding the impact of the proposed shared prosperity fund on North Wales?
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you for the opportunity just to contribute briefly and to endorse some of the points that have already been made about the schools liaison programme, because it is an important preventative service. It fills a gap, without doubt, in terms of the education provision for children—a gap that wouldn’t be filled unless the police made that provision. They look at online security, the...
Llyr Gruffydd: Additional funding to improve waiting times, of course, is very welcome, but it isn't sustainable, clearly. It doesn't address the underlying capacity issues that we have in the health service in north Wales—not enough doctors, not enough nurses, and your Government clearly not doing enough to get to grips with some of those basic challenges. And what does it say about Labour's running of...
Llyr Gruffydd: I'll start by echoing the thanks to the Chair and fellow members of the committee, to the clerks, officials and to the stakeholders, who have played a very dynamic role in this debate—more so in this case, I think, than in any other inquiry that I've been involved with. I have to say also that this is one of the most heart-rending inquiries that I have been part of in my time here in the...
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, I hope they're not learning from Glan Clwyd, Cabinet Secretary. But I would say, as the community health council said yesterday, yes, you would expect the figures to be higher, but these figures seem extortionately higher and disproportionately high in relation to the demographic difference that we do have in that particular part of Wales. So, I would ask you again to consider asking an...
Llyr Gruffydd: I’m sure you’ll understand the frustration, because hearing a Minister say that we’ll have to see what the situation is today, a full four and a half years after a report stated that action was urgently needed, is a cause of frustration. I do have to make that point. Now, of course, it’s not possible to move forward meaningfully to share the target that I’m sure we share in terms of...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much. I welcome that answer: that you won’t wait until Donaldson is in place because we know it will be 2025 by the time everyone has access to the new curriculum, and that’s potentially another generation of Welsh speakers lost. Can I ask you what consideration will be given to piloting or trialling this new model in specific areas in terms of combined qualification? The...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Llywydd. It’s almost four and a half years now since the publication of Professor Sioned Davies’s report on the position of Welsh as a second language in English-medium schools in Wales. In that report, she made it entirely clear that it was the eleventh hour even then in terms of Welsh as a second language, and that attainment levels for pupils in that subject were lower than...
Llyr Gruffydd: We know from figures provided by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists that over 50 per cent of children from socially deprived backgrounds may be starting school with impoverished communication, language and speech skills. Now, do you therefore share the Children's Commissioner for Wales's concerns that limiting the Government's childcare offer to only children of working...
Llyr Gruffydd: The children's commissioner is quite clear that there is a series of litmus tests, if you like, in terms of what she'd be looking for—primarily, of course, that all children in Wales can be accounted for and that none slip under the radar of universal services and society more widely. Well, you know, even a statutory register can't guarantee that and that's something I know that we've...
Llyr Gruffydd: May I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement this afternoon? You may expect me to have mixed feelings about the statement that has been made. Certainly, I am pleased that you are getting to grips with this issue once again, after at least two of your predecessors failed, in my view, to sufficiently tackle the issue. But, you do fall short of what many of us have been calling for for...
Llyr Gruffydd: Could I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for the economy about the announcement last week by Kimberly-Clark that they're to reduce their workforce globally by between 5,000 and 5,500 employees? That's a reduction of around 12 per cent to 13 per cent of their global workforce. Now, it's unclear at the moment what the implications will be for their facilities at Flint, but,...
Llyr Gruffydd: I'm pleased to hear that you will be monitoring the situation, because we also know, as the budgets of a number of schools where many of us are governors are shrinking, that means that the only true saving that many schools can make is to reduce the staff numbers, and classroom assistants are very often the first to be cut. In a climate where the Government—. Of course, we welcome the fact...
Llyr Gruffydd: Will the First Minister make a statement on bus services in North Wales?
Llyr Gruffydd: As one who isn’t a member of the Finance Committee, may I thank the committee and the Chair for their work? I think the Chair was a little hard on himself, suggesting that this isn’t the most exciting debate. Certainly, it won’t be the least exciting today. But I was excited by reading the report and looking at the recommendations, because of, as he’s mentioned, the experiences with...
Llyr Gruffydd: I agree that communication is crucial, of course, but there’s nothing that can beat actually getting out there and engaging directly with people. I do applaud the initiative of Senedd Newport in 2016, and Senedd Delyn, which had to be deferred because of sad circumstances. That model of intensive engagement in different parts of Wales is something I think we should do more of. May I ask,...
Llyr Gruffydd: Does the First Minister think that it's acceptable that there are no rush-hour buses from Wrexham industrial estate—one of the largest industrial estates in Europe—into Wrexham town centre? Thousands of workers are being left high and dry by a non-existent transport service. You either have to clock off early, or you have to hang around for an hour to catch the bus home. Now, you can...
