Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:19 pm on 21 November 2018.
I congratulate the Petitions Committee and in particular the way the Chair introduced the debate and outlined the considerations and arguments that have been put before the Petitions Committee. As someone who was on the original Petitions Committee back in the 2007 to 2011 Assembly, I well remember an exercise similar to this being undertaken in that particular Assembly, when we went down to west Wales looking at the challenges that local authorities face and schools face and communities face in maintaining their local education network. Because it's really important to reflect that a rural school is the heart of that community. It creates an energy within that community, it creates an activity that supports other services within the community and, above all, it binds that community together.