Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:29 pm on 24 May 2016.
Welcoming the education Secretary to her new role, can I ask her, first of all, if she will, therefore, publish the remit letter that she has issued, or her predecessor has issued, to HEFCW, so we can understand the circumstance in which this decision was made? This directly arises, of course, from the cut to HEFCW’s grant, which the previous Labour Government brought in and which she supported, she said, with pride. So, can she explain now how she will put in place what has been described by HEFCW as essential and important for Welsh universities, namely similar incentives to those offered by other similar universities otherwise they will be defeated by strong competition? That was the evidence that HEFCW gave the committee here, before the election. And will she, in her review with her officials, be looking to introduce her policy, which she stood on in the past election, of introducing an enhancement bursary for postgraduates? Is the enhancement nothing?