Huw Irranca-Davies: What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Education, about providing additional budget allocations to fund research and development in Wales in light of Professor Reid’s proposal for a St David’s Day fund?
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...older homes, creating more green jobs; and where we halt and reverse the decline in biodiversity and so much more? Now, some people will criticise these young people for taking a day skiving off school, but I have to say that I thank them for reminding us of our privilege and our responsibility as politicians to tackle global warming and for Wales to lead the way, even if the UK has lost...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...this is to do with cross-Government working. So, could I have that commitment on record from the Minister that he will continue to work with other Government Ministers, including the Minister for Education, to ensure that active travel to and from schools becomes a key part of the Public Health Wales administered healthy schools programme? This will not eat into schools' time, into any...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...And this is why we need a strategy. The effective implementation of the active travel Act has got to be cross-governmental and include a huge range of other public services, including, especially, education. Given the importance of getting children walking and cycling to school in the passing of the Act, it is astonishing that active travel has not been a consideration in the Government's...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...per cent of adults walked at least once a week for active travel purposes. This poor figure has fallen from 66 per cent in 2013-14. Forty-four per cent of children actively travel to their primary school. Thirty-four per cent to secondary school—this was a slight reduction from the 50 per cent to primary school in 2013-14. Cycling to school is relatively rare, with fewer than 1 per cent...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...nurture our young people. It's early days yet, but if that was to prove its success—and I have no doubt that it will, partly because of the work that's been done by the Children, Young People and Education Committee pushing this agenda—if it proves that it works, will the intention be then to roll that out not just across that region, not across south-east Wales, but actually to use...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...you, in terms of the social services and well-being Act, 'I understand that the start of any conversation should be what matters to me', in the same way that you have when you walk into primary schools with children. Now, we haven't got there yet, and it's a moot point about whether a law is needed or not, I have to say. My personal preference is that we should continue embedding it in...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...'ve done in the upper Llynfi valley with the Spirit of Llynfi Woodland, with a little bit of tree planting alongside engaging six GP practices in a cluster, alongside local primary and secondary schools, alongside knitters and sewers, striders and so on, it's having the effect on that 20:20 community we have, where there is a 20-year mortality difference between the top of the Llynfi and...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...discussion about where we go in future in terms of the wider childcare offer—not, by the way, in terms of the points that were raised by Siân previously, which are to do with parents who are in education and training who would not automatically fall within this offer, but I went through in detail at previous Stages exactly where there was already provision, and the fact that we were...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...in some detail matters of detail, matters of current and future policy that are beyond the parameters of this narrow Bill, but I’m really grateful to members of the Children, Young People and Education Committee for participating throughout in this debate and for their thorough scrutiny of the Bill. I’d also like to place on record my thanks to the Constitutional and Legislative...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...us that finding affordable, available and accessible childcare is one of the biggest challenges facing families in Wales. They're also telling us that juggling work and the logistics of early education and childcare is far from easy, as we've heard. We've also undertaken an extensive engagement process with childcare providers and the umbrella organisations that represent the sector. We...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...'s no doubt about that. But if I can just briefly turn to the amendment that we passed at Stage 2 deliberations, and the Bill as drafted, both now require that an eligible child be below statutory school age. It allows the Welsh Ministers, provides the ability for Welsh Ministers, to set by regulations that age range. It allows us also to specify by regulations the type of information...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ....] Now, Government amendments were passed at Stage 2, placing more details about eligible children on the face of the Bill. These made it clear that eligible children must be below statutory school age, but provided the Welsh Ministers with the flexibility to set that specific age range within regulations. Now, the Children, Young People and Education Committee made it very clear in our...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...of these amendments, or similar ones, were tabled during Stage 2. Amendment 13 and consequential amendment 21 relate to excluding the parents of children who could potentially be eligible for free school meals from paying additional charges. I think we already have sufficient measures in place to safeguard parents against being unreasonably charged, and I would say this is very different...
Huw Irranca-Davies: .... Just in opening, I think it is important to remind ourselves that this isn't something new; it's not arising as a result of the offer. It's not uncommon now—and I, as a parent—to receive education and childcare in different places and to make arrangements in terms of transport. The need to transport children is not something that arises in every setting, however, or in every part of...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...for childcare involving the Welsh language in ensuring the sufficiency of childcare provision in their areas. I'm going through some of the things that are in place before I move on. Under the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013, local authorities are required to set out, in their Welsh in education strategic plans, the WESPs, how they'll improve both the planning of...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...year to extend on the flexibility with Flying Start, what we can do beyond that as well. So, those discussions are ongoing. The financial contingency fund provides help to students in further education who need help with childcare costs. In 2016-17, 901 awards were made to student parents in FE to help with childcare costs, amounting to £2.7 million, and there are others that I laid out...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...to the eligibility criteria for the offer and are closely aligned with some of the responsible committee’s recommendations about opening up the scope of the offer to parents in training and education. Now, we debated this at quite some length at Stage 2 proceedings, and very recently, in fact, I wrote to the Chair and members of the Children, Young People and Education Committee...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm delighted to help open proceedings here on the Stage 3 committee for this important Bill. I've responded to calls from scrutiny committees—the Children, Young People and Education Committee and the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee—for a duty on the face of the Bill, and I've duly brought forward amendment 4. To give effect to this duty, the Welsh...
Huw Irranca-Davies: ...we can draw out very practical ways for when we talk about older people in care homes, older people who have social care packages in their own homes and so on. What strikes me is that if I go to a school in Swansea and I ask children about rights, they can articulate to me by the number what those rights are. They can tell me about right 31, the right to play. They can tell me about...
