Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:25 pm on 26 June 2019.
Diolch yn fawr iawn. Let me start from the outset by saying that we don't want to be holding this debate today. It's not our preference, nor do we take pleasure in coming here to discuss the problems across the higher education sector in Wales, but we feel that this is a debate that needs to be had now, because we support the sector, because it's so integral to our society and the economy. We're not going to be the party that sees an upcoming problem, or even a crisis, and does not sound the alarm, and we would hope that the Welsh Government would feel exactly the same way. Let's be clear, we're holding this debate not only because of the issues that we are detecting on a personal level, or via what's being reported by universities and in the press, but because people on the front line across the sector, including staff, academics and students, are coming to us raising real concerns on a regular basis. We cannot and should not ignore them. They feel, and we agree, that the Welsh Government is not treating the issues coming out of the higher education sector with the seriousness that they deserve, particularly when it comes to the times when I and others have raised some of those concerns in this Senedd directly with the Minister.