4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the services provided by Ynys Môn Council? OAQ(5)0116(FLG)[W]

Thank you for the question. Direct ministerial intervention in Ynys Môn has provided a platform from which progress has since been made in the provision of services. While important improvements have been seen, real concerns remain, as demonstrated in the recent Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales report into children’s services on the island.

I wanted to ask about a specific service, a service that’s important to Ynys Môn council, and other councils across Wales, and that is roads. There’s a tendency to see roadworks increasing substantially during the first months of the year, as the end of the financial year approaches. But, this isn’t the best way of ensuring the quality of the work or value for money, because the winter months aren’t necessarily the best time to resurface roads. The surface lasts less time if done in cold weather, the working day is shorter and maintenance work all done at one time means that the capacity isn’t available, perhaps, among local companies to carry out that work. The solution, perhaps, is to ensure that the work is spread across the year, and to allow more work to be done during the summer months. The same is true about the Government’s highways department. Now, I understand that the Minister here isn’t responsible for transport and roads, but as Minister for finance and local government, what work has been undertaken or what work are you considering to do to seek models and new funding structures to help to allocate the road maintenance budget more equitably across the year?

Well, Deputy Presiding Officer, I accept the point that the Member makes and that’s one of the reasons why we were eager to announce the capital funding available for the ensuing four years, in order to assist local authorities and other public services to plan better in order to use the capital funding available to them. After tomorrow, when the new county councils are in place, I intend over the summer to meet with every local authority and I’m completely happy to raise the point that Rhun ap Iorwerth has raised this afternoon and to discuss it with the local people to see whether things can be done better in the future.

Four days ago I joined the Assembly outreach service on a visit to the youth pod in Holyhead, which I commend to you. I promised young people there who are trained as peer educators for Project Lydia—a young people’s sex and relationship education project—that I would raise their concerns here. They gave me a copy of the project co-ordinator’s end-of-year report, to April 2017, showing that they had given 584 face-to-face support to young people, delivering evidenced better physical and social health, but given the conclusion of the report, it’s obvious young people need comprehensive sex and relationship education and ongoing support as much, if not more, than ever. However, it’s disappointing that neither Ynys Môn council nor Betsi Cadwaladr health board appear to have made any effort to raise funds to maintain this valued project, or indeed given staff the opportunity to do so. This is a multi-agency issue, which I therefore trust falls within your broader portfolio, and I wonder what action you might be able to take to support these excellent young people.

Can I thank the Member for raising the matter? I know that, in general, my colleague Kirsty Williams has a group looking at the way in which relationship education for people at that point in their lives can be improved in Wales. If the Member was willing to share a copy of the end-of-year report with me, I’d be very happy to look at it and see whether there are any steps that we might take to support that group.