Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...given us some very useful insights into the levels of anxiety that young people are facing. And that's why what we've done is to really focus attention in particular on, first of all, that whole-school approach, where we've given an additional £5 million this year, to make sure that we can give that really early intervention, to stop the problems from accumulating. And also now what we're...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...in seeing any tensions between languages in our communities. It is important that we work together and that we understand that there is a responsibility not just on those attending Welsh-medium schools, but also on those not attending Welsh-medium schools—that they too should learn enough of the language. And, of course, it is important that we do more work in that area. We've already...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...to these goals at the heart of our communities, by our grant partners, and steps taken by us as a Government. You will see that the report shows our work from early years, through statutory education provision into post-statutory education and Welsh for adults. It also covers projects to increase the use of the Welsh language in our communities. The report is very diverse and varied...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much for that, Nick. Certainly, I think we have put considerable support into schools and into HE. I will look into whether we need to give additional support to further education. Presumably they will be able to access other pots of funding, but I'm not aware so far that there is a specific pot for further education, so I will look into that, Nick. I'm only a couple of weeks into...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I would agree with you. I think it is really important. I am very aware of the stresses that young people are under. I'm very pleased that there has been considerable progress in terms of the whole-school approach. I think there is more work to be done on the whole-system approach, but I do think that we're heading in the right direction. I think the Together for Children and Young People...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...-Free Premises and Vehicles (Wales) Regulations 2020, and I formally ask Members to support the regulations before us today. The Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 places restrictions on smoking on school grounds, hospital grounds, in public playgrounds, and in open-air care settings for children. These regulations will reinforce those provisions as noted in Part 3 of that Act, and will also...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. I think that's a very important point, because there is a risk that people see the language as something artificial that's only spoken in schools, so it's important that they see that this is a way of life as well. And that's why Cymraeg i Blant is an opportunity for people to do just that, but, of course, at the moment it's difficult, and that's why all of that work has...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...that the questions are very fair too. Of course, what we do try to do to reach 1 million Welsh speakers is to ensure—. To reach that target, we want to ensure that more children receive their education through the medium of Welsh. So, around 20 per cent currently receive their education through the medium of Welsh, and we want that to get to 40 per cent. That's quite a major step and, of...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, I would just say that I do have quite intensive discussions with the education Minister on this particular issue. Of course, I would be hugely concerned if there were to be any detrimental impact on the Welsh language. So, it is important to ensure that it's possible to continue to provide immersion education in the Welsh language and that there's no difficulty in that area, and that we...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Of course, I do meet the education Minister regularly to discuss issues related to education and the Welsh language. I know that she is highly aware of the importance of ensuring that children have an opportunity to practice their Welsh language skills during this difficult time. But I would say that guidance has already been provided—not just from Government, but we have also asked...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...is something that we are highly aware of—that there are risks that people won't have the opportunity to practise their Welsh language skills, particularly if they have children in Welsh-medium education, and they will now have had three months without that opportunity to practise their Welsh. It's good to see that children have returned this week, and we have been clear that there are...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...to hear that. And it's absolutely right that there are people from non-Welsh-speaking homes who are really keen to make sure that they keep up their Welsh during this time. And certainly, when the education Minister made her statement on 'stay safe, stay learning', she made an absolute commitment then to ensuring that children from English-speaking homes who attended Welsh-speaking schools...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. Just to say that I have had a number of discussions with the Minister for Education on this issue, and I'd like to make it clear, I think, that as we are a bilingual nation, I think it makes a great deal of sense that we place Welsh and English on the face of the Bill. That's what you would expect in a bilingual nation. What is important is that there are opportunities...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Vikki. I have very regular meetings with the education Minister, and obviously have been very aware of the need to ensure that there are opportunities, in particular for those pupils who come from non-Welsh-speaking homes to be able to practice their Welsh, to be able to get their hands on resources that would be beneficial to them in terms of accessing materials that may be...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...the way that things are moving. Obviously, some people have a bit of time on their hands at the moment to be able to develop their language skills, and we're thrilled to see that. I know that the education Minister is intensely aware of the importance of telling Wales's histories, and it's very much an issue of talking about the plural histories of Wales. That has got to include black...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...way that black people have contributed to Wales over the years, and that that should be recognised. It's quite incredible to me that there have been people, for example, attending Sir Thomas Picton School in Haverfordwest who have no idea about who he was or what he did, and I think that is clearly something that needs to be addressed. I also think, in relation to the sectoral guidance...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...a lot of other countries in the world on that one. But that is something that we discuss at our weekly meetings with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I have had, as I say, a meeting with the education Minister where we discussed some of those issues. On free trade, I did have a discussion yesterday with Greg Hands, who's the Minister responsible for the negotiation with the United...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...expect to have. But we are in a different situation now, perhaps, and we will continue with those negotiations on the census. In terms of the curriculum, well, I’ve just come off a call with the education Minister and we were discussing this very issue. So, you can be confident that I am keeping a close eye on what’s happening. The Minister for Education is aware of the situation and...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...when they will be able to reopen, and that is a very difficult thing to do at the moment. We are having regular discussions with the Urdd, and we were discussing this this afternoon with the education Minister to see whether there is any support that we can provide, but I do think that what's important is that we highlight the huge contribution that the Urdd has made to our nation. But...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: ...offers. We know that we can't deliver the international agenda alone. This is where team Wales comes in. So, as well as cross-Government working—and I already have monthly meetings with the education Minister, very regular meetings with the economy Minister and, over the year, I'll be making sure I have bilateral meetings with other Ministers, so that we can explore some of those areas...
