Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:07 pm on 16 May 2017.
Well, if I can speak generally, the leader of UKIP is correct in that, in many parts of Wales, the length of the journey time to get to a Welsh-medium school puts parents off. It’s particularly true in some parts of Wales where there is a Welsh-medium primary school but there is a substantial journey to the Welsh-medium secondary school. Monmouthshire is an example that springs to mind—Ysgol y Ffin, Ysgol y Fenni—it’s a long way to Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw from there, and steps must be taken to make sure that they’re able to access secondary education, particularly, more locally. Generally, local authorities have to produce their Welsh in education strategic plans. We look at those plans and, if we judge them to be inadequate, then we do not approve those plans. It is for local authorities all across Wales to show that they are providing sufficient access to Welsh-medium education in order for those plans to be effective.