Rebecca Evans: ...they require to get online to access their classes, but we are really aware that there's more to be done in that area. So, that's one of the areas where I'm having particular discussions with the education Minister with a view to seeing what more we can do in that area. But, as I say, between now and the third supplementary budget, I intend to make some really significant allocations.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much to John Griffiths for raising this really important issue. It was the case, of course, that Welsh Government decided to extend our free school meals provision through the holidays a long time before the decision was arrived at across the border in England. And I do take my hat off to inspirational people such as Marcus Rashford, who has used his platform in order to effect...
Rebecca Evans: ...on allocations made this year to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable, the Welsh Government’s draft budget 2021-22 sets out plans including an extra £23.1 million for free school meals and £200 million for affordable and social housing.
Rebecca Evans: ...year on year to active travel. And I'm really quite excited by the £5 million of capital funding that we've allocated to take forward the delivery of a carbon-zero pilot project to decarbonise schools and colleges in Wales. I think that it is important that we engage with young people on this particular agenda. We all know how passionate many people are about climate change, and the fact...
Rebecca Evans: ...people’s mental health and well-being. We're providing the best possible settlement for local government in the current financial circumstances, with £176 million to support pressures on schools and social services. We're investing in education, including £20 million of additional funding to support the predicted increase in student enrolment in sixth form and further education....
Rebecca Evans: Thank you for raising those issues. I will make sure that the education and local government Ministers are aware of that first request in terms of some clarity around the hub settings. My understanding is that there is an issue in terms of how many children are able to access those hub settings, but, of course, I will speak to both of those Ministers to try and get the kind of clarity that's...
Rebecca Evans: I thank Helen Mary Jones for raising those three particular areas of concern this afternoon. So, it was school deficits, school refurbishment within the context of twenty-first century schools, and the process for consulting on any changes during the current period of restrictions and the context of the pandemic. I will, on this occasion, ask Helen Mary to send that in a letter to the...
Rebecca Evans: ...with responsibility for social services to also provide him with an update on what social services can do to ensure that looked-after children in their care are kept as safe as possible and are educated about the dangers of county lines and protected from individuals who would seek to exploit them. So, I'd be very happy to find an opportunity for him to be updated on that.
Rebecca Evans: ...Restrictions) (No. 4) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, the Public Health (Protection from Eviction) (Wales) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 and the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (School Premises and Further Education Institution Premises) (Wales) Regulations 2020, and the new coronavirus restrictions. I've also added an oral statement on the end of the transition period....
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Suzy Davies for raising that issue. I will make a point of speaking to the education Minister to seek some clarity on those specific questions relating to some of the practicalities around the arrangements for students as they leave to go home for Christmas, but also in terms of the arrangements for returning to campus. So, I'll be sure to do that.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. It is disappointing to see whole-year groups being sent home to self-isolate when you look at other schools that seem to be managing the situation much better. I know that the Member has raised this issue with me, alongside a couple of other questions specific to education recently, and I have asked the education Minister to provide a letter with a response. I'll ensure that she...
Rebecca Evans: ...Bill, which the issue the Member describes is part of, for a long time, and we've undertaken extensive consultation on this particular matter. I will invite Caroline Jones to write to the education Minister with those examples that have been shared with her, because the education Minister has always been absolutely categorical that any teaching provided to children in this particular field...
Rebecca Evans: ...regard. On the issue of payments for self-isolation, I will ask Leanne Wood to write to the Minister, Julie James, with regard to the specific cases that she has described—the staff working in schools—so we can better understand the challenges there. And again, I will raise that important issue of what more we can do to ensure that clinically vulnerable staff are kept safe and that...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Suzy Davies for raising all of those issues. Certainly, we would hope that employers would do the right thing by their employees who are parents of children who are sent home from school, but I'll certainly discuss with the Minister for economy and transport how best we can provide advice to those employers. And again, on the matter of supermarkets, I'm very disappointed to...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Leanne Wood for raising both of those issues. On the first, I will make a point of speaking to the education Minister, because your request for a statement did cover quite a wide range of aspects, including testing in schools, support for people who are shielding, and also financial support for those parents who have to also take time off when their children are required to be...
Rebecca Evans: We are investing in all parts of Wales to support our public services, businesses and communities. Investments in Pembrokeshire include £48.7 million for a new secondary school in Haverfordwest and £40 million for improvements to the A40. Pembrokeshire County Council has also been awarded an allocation of £6.9 million of targeted regeneration investment funding.
Rebecca Evans: We would always love to give partners longer term certainty for their funding, and, certainly, it's something that the Chancellor has been able to offer schools and the NHS across the border in England, and also infrastructure projects, but hasn't been able to offer us that same kind of certainty. So, a one-year spending review, following another one-year spending round, which we had last...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you to Laura Anne Jones for raising that important issue. The Minister for Education does have questions in the Chamber tomorrow, so that might be an opportunity to explore some of this in more detail, but, alongside that, I will ask her to write to you with some further information about the plan for testing children in school, and also the advice that is being provided to schools...
Rebecca Evans: ...for young people, who were so badly affected by the lockdown, including additional catch-up support for learners in years 11, 12 and 13; capital investment, for example in low-carbon housing, schools and primary care, to create and safeguard jobs, deliver homes and better public services; and tackling inequalities, particularly in respect of BAME people who have been severely impacted by...
Rebecca Evans: ...borrowing and why Welsh Government—not a question, really; a comment as to borrowing. And some people have asked, 'Well, why doesn't Welsh Government borrow to deliver the A465 or more of these school schemes?' Well, as Mike's aware, the borrowing limit is very modest, only £150 million a year, and, obviously, we've already got really ambitious investment plans: housing, health, other...
