Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:52 pm on 24 September 2019.
I completely agree with the Member about the importance of supply teachers and the fact that they are an essential part of the teaching workforce, and, of course, the new system is designed to be carefully monitored. It's been going only three weeks, so these are early stages and it's not surprising in some ways that the full rulebook has yet to settle completely. But, just to be completely clear, NPS will pursue full compliance with the terms on which companies have been placed on the framework, and where there are any allegations or evidence of non-compliance against the framework, then those things will be raised with the agencies, warnings will be issued and, if in the end it is clear that this is not just settling in but a deliberate attempt to get round the framework to which those companies have applied and been successful in being placed on that contract, then of course they will be removed from it.