5. 2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:49 pm on 28 March 2017.

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Photo of Julie Morgan Julie Morgan Labour 2:49, 28 March 2017

I wanted to raise two issues. Refugees who come to Wales and to the UK are keen to work and want to do their bit for society, but they’re hindered by being unable to get a driving licence, because the theory test is only done in English or in Welsh. I understand that, up to 2013, you could do it in languages like Bengali or Arabic. As transport is such a big issue for people getting to work, could the Welsh Government consider entering into a dialogue with the UK Government to find out what the reason was for this change of policy and whether anything could be done about it?

The second issue was that a number of my constituents are calling for an initiative called Operation Close Pass that is taking place in north Wales and in cities in England, where plain-clothed police on bikes stop drivers who pass too close to cyclists and educate them about safe passing distances. So, would it be possible to have a debate about safety for cyclists, as they do make up 1 per cent of the traffic, yet I believe are 16 per cent of all casualties? So, I wondered if we could have a debate on that.