Revision Textbooks

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:06 pm on 21 May 2019.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:06, 21 May 2019

Llywydd, can I begin by, indeed, wishing all those young people who are sitting examinations the very best of wishes in that? I had the pleasure of meeting Darren's son when he attended with the two of us an organ donation event during the passage of the Bill in front of the Assembly, so I wish him well particularly.

The Welsh Government has made real efforts, Llywydd, to correct for market failure in this area, because that's what we are doing. We spend no money in supporting English language textbooks; we provide over £3 million a year to support the provision of resources to Welsh-medium learners in this way, and we've increased this grant funding this year. I know that the Minister has written to Siân Gwenllian today to confirm that we will provide £1.25 million in this financial year, and that that will allow another 50 new titles to be provided to support qualifications, over the 40 new titles that were published in the past financial year. We work very hard with the players in the field to try to accelerate the translation of these works and to make sure that they arrive in a timely fashion.

It's not for Government, I think, Llywydd, to interfere in the way in which examinations are either conducted or assessed, but the general point that the Member makes about the need to make sure that young people who are sitting examinations through the medium of Welsh have the same opportunities to study for them, to have revision guides, and so on, is one with which we absolutely agree. The new curriculum will give us a new opportunity, as Siân suggested, to make sure that those resources rise year by year alongside the roll-out of the curriculum, and we're committed to making sure that that happens.