Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:05 pm on 16 May 2017.
I thank the First Minister for that reply, which of course I understand. This is the opposite to the situation that we faced in Llangennech, where there’s parental opposition to the changing of the status of the school to a Welsh-medium school. There’s a feeling in the locality in Brecon that this proposal for closure has become a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy because the council has, for many years, had a proposal to close down, and they’ve provided free transport to alternative schools for parents, so it’s not surprising that parents who want to have their children taught through the medium of Welsh are now exploring other opportunities with the result that the school rolls have been falling to unsustainable levels. I hope the First Minister will agree that I try to be on this, if on no other issue, non-partisan and helpful, so what I would like to ask the First Minister is: in addition to the acknowledged policy, which I think is the correct one, of the Minister for Lifelong Learning in relation to the situation in Llangennech—of persuasion and cajoling, bringing parents with us and going with the grain—is it not the case that where parents want to have their children taught through the medium of Welsh, you ought to make it as easy as possible for them? Therefore, requiring children to go on a bus journey of over an hour in each direction each day is not likely to bring more parents into the net of wanting to have their children taught through the medium of Welsh. So I’m wondering what, without, perhaps, commenting on this individual case, the First Minister can do to make it easier for parents in the situation that we find in Brecon to have their wishes satisfied.