3. 3. Statement: The Diamond Review of Higher Education and Student Finance in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:03 pm on 27 September 2016.

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Photo of Lynne Neagle Lynne Neagle Labour 3:03, 27 September 2016

Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement today and also add my thanks to Sir Ian and his team for his report? I’m really looking forward to them coming to the Children, Young People and Education Committee on the twelfth for us to discuss it in detail. I think that there is a great deal to welcome in this report. Particularly, I welcome the fact that it has so clearly taken on board the views of students about the need to address the pound in their pocket. I welcome the change for postgraduates, which will be vital for our economy, the changes for part-time students, which will have a huge impact on our ability to deliver on social justice in Wales, and I also agree with the Cabinet Secretary that portability is extremely important.

Probably for me, though, the most welcome thing is that this will provide the most generous package of support to the neediest students that we have ever seen—the commitment to provide the equivalent of the living wage, which is enormously welcome. I would just like to specifically ask about young people who’ve had experience of the care system, which the Cabinet Secretary has already referred to. The report makes specific recommendations in relation to those young people. Is it the Welsh Government’s intention to fully implement those recommendations?