Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:26 pm on 21 November 2018.
Diolch. Thank you, everybody who has taken part. From what I can gather, we've got a consensus in the fact that we all support further education and we all want to see it prioritised. I guess where we differ is in our politics and in our analysis as to the prioritisation that it has for the Welsh Government. I did recognise the investment that has been put into the staffing issues, but, of course, this isn't a new thing. Since I was elected in 2007, there have continuously been pay disputes in relation to FE terms and conditions in terms of workload. So, I genuinely hope—I genuinely hope—that this will be able to stop any future potential action and that we can all work together to ensure that the sector does have the respect that it deserves. Because we know from what Caroline Jones has said, from what Mohammad Asghar has said and from what Dai Lloyd has said—the pressure is being felt on the ground in the everyday realities of the colleges that are in our constituencies. Lecturers and tutors and staff are coming to us and telling us how much they feel stressed by the current situation, how they're leaving the sector and how they feel that they cannot commit to the sector that they love so dearly and are going to jobs anew. We cannot see this as sustainable for the future. We have to ensure that those staff stay and remain in the further education sector.
Now, I think I should bring up the point that Dawn Bowden made about the fact that this says 'at the heart of the Welsh economy'. If it was at the heart of the Welsh economy, then the Minister just in front of you wouldn't have said that it wasn't at the heart of what the Welsh Government was doing, especially in relation to lifelong learning. If it was at the heart of what the Welsh Government is doing, I wouldn't have needed to have brought this debate to the floor of this Chamber here today. I don't want to have to say that these cuts are happening, but they are, and it is a matter of prioritisation, not only for the UK Government, but for Welsh Government too, as to where they allocate those funds. Since I was elected in 2007, that prioritisation has not happened. If it's going to turn around now, that's great, but I was on the economic committee this morning and it was said that our productivity levels are still really very low. That is not a sign of putting the further education colleges at the heart of our economy here in Wales.