Alun Davies: Before turning to the regulatory impact assessment and the financial implications, I want to reflect very briefly on why we’re doing this and why we’re taking this legislation forward. The Bill is a cornerstone of our additional learning needs transformation programme. It is a vital and long-overdue piece of reform with the potential to support tens of thousands of children and young...
Alun Davies: I’m grateful, again, to my friend, the Member for Cynon Valley, for her remarks. I met with the Bevan Foundation yesterday and discussed some of our ideas. I should say and put on record that I’m a former member of the board of trustees, of course, of the Bevan Foundation, and I’ve always found the Bevan Foundation a refreshing, intelligent and challenging contribution to all of our...
Alun Davies: We do want to ensure that we have a number of different tools available to us to stimulate economic activity and to create work and to create jobs, and, as I said in answer to an earlier question, to create not just jobs but careers in the Valleys. We’ve outlined an approach, which is to ensure that we use not only the metro, but other travel routes as well, as spines, if you like, within...
Alun Davies: Jobs were a part of it but not the whole of it, and more time listening and less time talking would actually probably be a good lesson for the leader of Plaid Cymru. Can I say that we understand—? We understand—and it’s a good time to discuss this at the moment with Matthew Taylor’s report published today, which exposes some of the real inequalities in today’s labour market and in...
Alun Davies: I’m grateful to Leanne Wood for her few kind words. I get the impression that I’ve just watched a video being made. Can I say very, very gently to the leader of Plaid Cymru that she’s the only Valleys Member here who hasn’t met me to discuss this work in detail about how it affects their individual constituencies? A number of Members have come and spoken to me about these matters, and...
Alun Davies: Even without my glasses I can see—
Alun Davies: Can I just answer the final question on the Valleys park? I agree very much with what’s been said about the potential of the commons and the tops of the Valleys, particularly. I’ve spoken many times with Rhianon Passmore about Cwmcarn scenic drive, I know that Dai Rees has spoken about the Afan valley at the same time and I’ve bored Dawn Bowden a number of times about the times I take...
Alun Davies: I’m grateful to the leader of the Welsh Conservatives for his kind words and welcome for the statement this afternoon. Can I say to him—? When the First Minister asked me to take on this responsibility of co-ordinating and leading this work, I was very, very clear in my own mind that in creating a Valleys taskforce, we don’t want to create another quango or we don’t want to create...
Alun Davies: Thank you, Llywydd. I’m pleased that you have the opportunity to listen to me again, and I’m very pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the work of the ministerial taskforce for the south Wales Valleys. Members will be aware that we set up the taskforce a year ago to work with communities and local businesses across the south Wales Valleys to ensure that we can deliver lasting...
Alun Davies: Hoffwn roi ar y cofnod, Dirprwy Lywydd, fy niolch i'r tasglu am ei waith dros y 12 mis diwethaf. Rwyf eisiau diolch i’m cyd-Aelodau yn y llywodraeth—Ken Skates, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros yr Economi a’r Seilwaith, a Julie James, y Gweinidog Sgiliau a Gwyddoniaeth. Mae aelodaeth y tasglu wedi ei ehangu yn ystod y flwyddyn, ac mae’r aelodau newydd yn cynnwys Fiona Jones, o'r Adran...
Alun Davies: I think that we do have to invest in the economy of areas where the Welsh language is the community language, but what I don’t want to do is create a Gaeltacht, as it were—create a community or region where it is established that that is the area where it’s spoken. As I mentioned in response to the Member for Neath with regard to promoting the Welsh language in the Valleys, we need to...
Alun Davies: I saw the evidence from Mudiad Meithrin to the committee, and it was excellent evidence. They, of course, were talking about the target of 2050, and that we’d need 600 ‘cylchoedd meithrin’ by that time. The number that we have is an additional 150 by 2031. So, we have around 450 at present, and that takes us up to 500 by 2031. So, I don’t think that we’re far apart on this, because...
Alun Davies: I agree with you, Dai, and I wanted to make that exact same point in my oral statement, when I was talking about the Welsh language as a British language, and our Welsh experience as a British experience. It’s vitally important that we don’t just reach out over the border, but that we understand each other as people of Britain. I think that’s something that’s vital and something that...
Alun Davies: Can I say how much I absolutely agree with the points that have been made by Lee Waters? As a Minister, you tend to visit a number of different schools and institutions. I visited a school in your constituency about six months ago. I visited my old infants school with the education Secretary. It’s always a curious experience to go back to your own school. When I started in Glanhowy infants,...
Alun Davies: I’m grateful to you for your kind remarks and for the welcome you’ve given the statement, and both the approach and the tone that we have used in moving this policy forward. You describe the strategy as an adventure. It’s certainly a journey, and it’s an exciting journey. It’s exciting because it isn’t going to be those of us in this Chamber here who will determine its success....
Alun Davies: Again, I’d like to thank the Plaid Cymru spokesperson for her general welcome for the strategy and the work programme. I’m pleased that you focused on the work programme in your questions. You’re right that, when I look around me in this place in Cardiff Bay, when I travel around Wales and when I’m at home in Blaenau Gwent, I see goodwill towards the Welsh language in all places....
Alun Davies: I’d like to thank Suzy Davies for her general welcome for the words and the statement and the strategy itself. May I say this in responding to you, Suzy? We are starting on a journey here—a journey over two generations to reach 2050, a journey where we have to make investment very early on, and that’s what I’ve tried to do today, by showing some sort of picture of what I hope to do...
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Welsh Government’s vision is to reach 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050: a clear vision that brings us together as a nation, and that is what drives this new strategy. The Welsh language is an important part of who we are, whether we speak the language or not, and we need to be proud of our bilingualism. But the time is right to take the...
Alun Davies: The new strategy identifies 10 transformational changes we will need to drive forward. These are: creating new speakers through the education system; use of the language, in the workplace and socially, and through services; and, finally, creating favourable conditions to ensure that we have an infrastructure and context for the Welsh language, such as supporting Welsh-speaking communities and...
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, Llywydd. Thank you to everyone who’s contributed to this debate this afternoon, and thank you to Sian Gwenllian for moving the motion on behalf of Plaid Cymru, giving us the opportunity to discuss the Welsh language here today. Llywydd, I will be asking Members this afternoon to support amendment 1 in the name of Jane Hutt, but not to support the other amendments. I ask...
