Bethan Sayed: What are your plans—? As I said earlier—I mentioned apprenticeships. What are your plans in this regard to put apprenticeships at the heart of the PCET proposals? I know, of course, that this is an area that is in the economy and transport brief, but in my view—and I'm sure you would agree—an apprenticeship for young people should be viewed as an extension of an educational process...
Bethan Sayed: Thank you, and I welcome that particular review, because we are seeing worrying trends by cash-strapped local authorities to reduce support for options for learners in Wales. We've seen Neath Port Talbot council consult on changes to post-16 transport earlier this year, which they had to scrap because of the outcry, and now Bridgend council is consulting on abolishing free transport for...
Bethan Sayed: 1. Will the Minister outline how the Welsh Government's education department co-operates with the economy and transport department to improve transport options for young people in education and training? OAQ54767
Bethan Sayed: This matter has been raised with me as higher education spokesperson for Plaid Cymru by the NUS, who are concerned about how fast some of these flats are being built, and the boom that is happening also here in Wales, and how that affects students. They've told me that, sometimes, students are put into flats without the whole accommodation having been finished, and therefore fire safety...
Bethan Sayed: Clearly, this isn't a surprise to anybody who understands the steel industry. Many of the people I've already spoken to today and yesterday, since the news, have said, 'Well, this is something that we saw coming', after they saw the joint venture fail. Can you tell me—? In the statement yesterday, you said you wanted to have an urgent meeting with Tata as a result of the announcement, and I...
Bethan Sayed: I'd like to ask for a statement on housing adaptations and an update on what Welsh Government are doing in this regard. I ask because I have a constituent who suffered from a very serious illness that has left her wheelchair bound, and she's only in her early 30s. She's recently been required to stay at a Holiday Inn—other hotels are available—but this has been paid for by the local...
Bethan Sayed: Will the Minister make a statement on the provision of social housing for disabled people?
Bethan Sayed: Thank you for that. Just to clarify, I wasn't saying that they weren't doing their jobs effectively; I was saying they've approached me actually, saying, 'Look, we know we're doing work in further education, but we are struggling because of the patchiness of that', and so it's about how they can be helped to be more effective when they go into those institutions, not to say that they're not...
Bethan Sayed: Okay, and thank you for that update. When you do have more information, it would be useful to share that, because, of course, I know that the same challenges face FE students and their staff, as they do in HE. Obviously, one of the reasons universities put forward or campaigned for money for mental health initiatives was due to the work that the National Union of Students did in part of that...
Bethan Sayed: Diolch. Minister, the £2 million your Government announced earlier this year for mental health initiatives in university was much needed and welcomed. And you told me in July that this funding was to develop a whole-school approach that would support staff as well as students. But, at the same time, I believe you gave ColegauCymru just £175,000 for the same purpose, with regard to...
Bethan Sayed: There's been a great deal of focus on teachers' skills in the statutory sector in terms of teaching through the medium of Welsh, but there hasn't been as much focus on the skills of those in FE in terms of how they can teach through the medium of Welsh. During a recent meeting of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, the Welsh Language Commissioner joined us and told us that there...
Bethan Sayed: I wanted to focus on recommendation 5 and the remit of overseas offices and how they should be communicated to businesses and how they can be maximised. I know, for example, that you have three offices in India, but I'm also aware of many businesses with Indian bases here in Wales who don't have any communication whatsoever from Welsh Government, and they do their own missions to India, and...
Bethan Sayed: What representations has the Welsh Government made to the UK Government in relation to the Israeli settlements in the West Bank?
Bethan Sayed: With regard to my first issue, you may have seen a very good article on WalesOnline in the last few days about the fact that Gwent Police were accused of covering up for a police officer who was domineering, controlling and physically abusive to several women who were also police officers. He was only given a warning, he wasn't arrested, the system protected him and not the women, and normal...
Bethan Sayed: Okay. I'm just asking in relation to the Queen's Speech, as we heard this week that there is going to be a movement by the UK Government to extend sentencing in the UK, and, of course, the Ministry of Justice has still not shelved plans for a supersized prison in south Wales. They may have shelved the Port Talbot plan, but the south Wales superprison plan has not been shelved. In light of the...
Bethan Sayed: Sorry, I was just struggling to hear. You said you haven't—
Bethan Sayed: 1. What legal representations has the Counsel General made on behalf of the Welsh Government relating to the size of the prison estate in Wales? OAQ54520
Bethan Sayed: Thank you for that reply. As you will know, Neath Port Talbot council—as did many other councils at the time—they spun off their leisure services to Celtic Leisure, and many of us warned at the time that eventually working conditions would spiral because of that. What we've seen recently, therefore, is Celtic Leisure saying that, if people don't agree to changes in their terms and...
Bethan Sayed: 7. How does the Welsh Government ensure appropriate work conditions in private companies that provide services on behalf of local government? OAQ54471
Bethan Sayed: I would agree that the public interest is integral here, which is why, in relation to the cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi, Vertex isn't only submitting an application for the drug, it's submitting a patient access scheme alongside that, which of course allowed for it to be okayed in Scotland. My question is: how often are these patient access schemes considered here in Wales alongside a drug...
