The next item is the business statement and announcement. I call on the Trefnydd to make the statement—Rebecca Evans.

Diolch, Llywydd. There is one change to this week's business. Tomorrow's debate on the motion to annual the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Specified Information) (Wales) Regulations 2019 has been withdrawn. Draft business for the next three sitting weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for Education about her approach to relationship and sexuality education in Wales? Constituents have contacted me to express their concerns that the Welsh Government advisors have called for lessons to be made compulsory in Welsh schools. In England, headteachers are expected to talk to parents who wish to exclude their children from these lessons to explain the benefit of receiving this important education. However, parents will still have the right to withdraw their child up to the age of 15. Minister, may we have a statement on whether the Minister will follow the constructive approach of engaging with parents, as in England, or does she support removing the rights of parents to have a say in this aspect of their children's education altogether?

Well, Llywydd, the Welsh Government has recently closed a consultation on exactly this specific issue. And I know that the education Minister will be keen to update the Senedd on the outcome of her deliberations, when she's had the opportunity to fully consider all of the responses to that consultation.

Given the Government's commitment for there to be 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, can we have a statement outlining whether the Government regrets the comments of a Labour MP who described a Plaid Cymru candidate as being obsessed with the Welsh language? Does the Government consider that everyone who speaks Welsh or who is learning Welsh is obsessed with the Welsh language? Will you agree to have a word with the MP concerned to explain that these slurs against the Welsh language from Labour cause divisions and are wrong? And will you agree with me that using the Welsh language as a weapon in this way should not be tolerated, that this sort of dog whistling is unacceptable, and will you commit to us this afternoon to putting a stop to it?

I want to mention a problem concerning the funding for end-on courses. This was brought to my attention by a constituent who's been left in poverty because she is being denied the financial assistance that she was entitled to as a student with dyslexia. The Student Loans Company are withholding the funding because they're waiting for a policy decision from the Welsh Government regarding these end-on courses. Student Finance Wales say they cannot release any money until they hear from the Welsh Government. A spokesperson for the Student Loans Company has said that they warned the Welsh Government of this issue when it first arose and made it clear that they would not make any payment to students on these end-on courses until either the legislation or letter of authority is issued to them.

My constituent is one of the fortunate ones. After quitting her course because she could no longer afford the bus fare, she was persuaded to change her mind by the college that she attends because they offered her a bursary to tide her over until Christmas. In correspondence with the education Minister, I have been assured that she will be bringing forward amending regulations to rectify this position imminently, and that, of course, is to be welcomed. Can the Government now give an undertaking that this matter will be finalised before Christmas to bring assurances to my constituent and others who find themselves in the same position? Also, will efforts be made to contact all of those students who may well have quite their courses as a result of this bureaucratic blunder to let them know that financial support will be reinstated, giving them the option to continue with their studies?

Llywydd, there's been no party that has done more for the Welsh language than the Labour Party. The Welsh Government and the Welsh Labour Party has a long and proud history of supporting the Welsh language and being enthusiastic about the Welsh language, and ambitious for the Welsh language. And that's why Cymraeg 2050 is central to all Welsh Government policies, and we're committed to ensuring that we work together to reach that 1 million Welsh speakers and to double the use of Welsh. And the Welsh Government is passionate about this agenda.

In terms of the second issue, I'm pleased that you had the reassurances that you were seeking from the education Minister, that she will be bringing forward the appropriate regulations, and I'm pleased that the college was able to offer your particular constituent the support that she needs to be able to keep attending her course through until Christmas. Obviously, I will speak to the education Minister about the timeline for bringing forward those important regulations and the amendments.

Last Tuesday, the Minister for Economy and Transport reported on employment and people with disabilities. Can I ask for a Government statement on what action is being undertaken by the Welsh Government, and more importantly Welsh Government's financially supported bodies, to increase the number of people with disabilities employed?

Secondly, my opposition to incineration is well known and well documented. I would like to ask for a statement on the carbon dioxide emissions from biomass incinerators and an explanation of why the Welsh Government will not impose a moratorium on new incinerators, excluding those for medical waste disposal, and also on new biomass plants. We know that burning and other changes to matter does not destroy them. The mass of mater is always the same before and after the changes occur. The law on conservation of mass states that matter cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to the other. So, what we actually end up with with incineration is turning carbon and other elements into dioxins and carbon dioxide.

Thank you to Mike Hedges for raising these two issues. The first related to Welsh Government's work in terms of supporting and enabling disabled people into the workplace within the Welsh Government context. As a disability confident leader level 3 organisation, we are committed to increasing the number of disabled people working within this organisation. So, using the social model of disability to remove barriers, positive action and targeting disabled people through outreach and encouraging applicants to ask for adjustments during the recruitment process have seen the number of disabled people joining the Welsh Government rise over the past few years. But we're certainly not complacent, which is why we have our diversity and inclusion action plan 2020-4 currently in development, and that will set out the next steps for us in terms of ensuring that those interventions continue and continue to be effective in terms of supporting disabled people to enter this organisation.

We have responsibility for board appointments to Government-sponsored bodies only. We don't have responsibility for the staff employed by those bodies, but certainly we would want to encourage them to look to Welsh Government for the leadership and the work that we can do there. But, as I say, I think there's much more for us to be doing on this particular agenda.

Mike Hedges's views on incineration are well known and I will ask the Minister with responsibility for waste to provide an answer to what were some quite detailed questions.

Could the Minister make a statement on Government initiatives to stimulate the economy of Pontypool and its immediate Valleys communities, including Blaenavon? Pontypool was once a thriving industrial community, with companies such as ICI, formally British Nylon Spinners, which at one time employed some 6,000 people; Panteg Steel Works with around 3,000; Pilkington Glass, 700; and Warner-Lambert around 600. All have been lost in the past 20 years or so, with no substantial companies being established in that time. Surely it is time the Welsh Government did something to attract industries that would replace them. Could the Minister make a statement on whether there are any large employers in the pipeline, because it is notable that there appears to have been little major investment in the area for more than 20 years?

And finally, could the Minister make a statement on any initiatives brought about by the Valleys taskforce that might halt the decline in this once thriving community?

Well, I'll certainly ask the Minister with responsibility for the economy, and the Deputy Minister, who leads on the Valleys taskforce work, to write to you with an update on the work that has been going on in the Pontypool area and the work that is planned for the Pontypool area, in terms of supporting industry, innovation and employment and investment in the area.FootnoteLink

Information further to Plenary

Can I concur with Mike Hedges's previous comments and requests on two issues? Firstly, on the request for a statement and update on what the Welsh Government is doing to help disabled people into work or back into work. Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of visiting Legacy International Group Ltd, based in Merthyr but serving the whole of south Wales. They have got a number of projects going forward to help disability-confident projects to try and achieve their goals. I thought there was a worthwhile number of projects going on there, so I think I'd like to hear what support is going on to help those.

Secondly, Mike Hedges raised the issue of incineration, which I know a number of Members have raised over the last few weeks and months. I've had an issue in my own constituency just outside Usk with a plan for a new incinerator. As Mike will know, when those proposals come on, they cause great controversy locally and people do look for reassurance. Perhaps we could have a statement from the Minister with regard to how people can be reassured, and perhaps that these projects shouldn't go ahead until and unless there is a confirmation of their safety.

And finally, last week I raised with you the issue of Small Business Saturday and asked what Welsh Government was doing to look again at the business rates regime and support available for small businesses across Wales. On Saturday I visited a small business in my area, N. S. James of Raglan. I'm pleased to see that that small business is doing well, but, of course, across Wales, in all our constituencies, they are the backbone of our local economies. I asked you last week and I will ask again if we could perhaps have a statement from the Welsh Government on what support is available to support small businesses in Wales.

I thank Nick Ramsay for raising those issues. We did have a statement from the Minister for Economy and Transport just last week in terms of disability and disabled people's employment, so perhaps it's a little too soon to have a further discussion on that. But I know that he will be keen to update Members on the progress of the work that he was discussing in his statement last week, and, obviously, I'm very interested to hear, as I know the Minister will be, about those particular local projects that you described as well.

Again, the request for a statement on incineration: I'll make sure that the Minister with responsibility for waste is aware of the interest in a statement from Members.

And I was delighted to support Small Business Saturday. So, on the Friday ahead of it, I spent quite some time in Pontarddulais talking to small-business owners in that village, and they were very keen to talk to me about business rates. Many of the businesses I spoke to benefited from Welsh Government's rate relief, to the point at which they were paying nothing at all for their business rates, which I thought was excellent. And I'm very pleased this afternoon to be moving regulations with regard to the multiplier rate for the Non-Domestic Rating (Multiplier) (Wales) Order 2019, and that will mean that we are moving this year to using the consumer prices index rather than the retail prices index, and, of course, that's a benefit, then, to Welsh businesses of around £10 million, and that's on top of the support that we already provide.

We all know in this room that the bus pass replacement deadline comes up on 31 December. I know we've seen reports and I've also had constituents come to my office about how difficult it has been to get that replacement. Many people, especially from the elderly generation, have been pushed online, but then I'm being told by some of the office staff who are administrating the process that they can't cope with doing that because they didn't anticipate people going and doing it online. So, it seemed to be a bit of a mishmash of what happened in that regard. I know that improvements are sought to be made, but can you assure us that you are going to do that and that you're going to encourage everybody who can have a replacement bus pass to be able to do that before 31 December?

My second question, and you may think I'm being premature but I don't think I am, because the tickets are already out for the Euro 2020 championships, and it's a really bad time, I think, because everybody is thinking of Christmas, but, anyway, people are planning their visits to Rome, to Baku, and Baku and back next year, but many won't be able to afford to go, or they may not be able to for various other reasons because of their work commitments. So, what discussions are you having with the Football Association of Wales, with councils across the country, to set up fan zones yet again, and to improve and expand on the fan zone concept, because I know that many were overrun last time, many were very popular, so that we have planning well ahead of June so that we can be assured that the fans who can't get to the games, wherever they may be, can see Wales and they can support Wales from home, and do so in style.

Thank you. On the issue of the bus passes, I know Transport for Wales are working really hard to ensure that people do have their bus passes with them in good time for the end of this year. There are particular issues—for example, people who have been waiting for their bus pass and then applied a second time, and, of course, that flags up the particular case then as potential fraud. So, that actually delays the printing of those bus passes. So, we would encourage people, if they haven't yet received their bus pass but they have applied, not to apply a second time, because that would potentially slow down their application. But I will ask the Minister for Economy and Transport to explore if there is a further and current update that he can provide on what is an issue of huge importance to all of us as Assembly Members and in terms of the constituents we represent.

Never too early to talk about Euro 2020—I know that the Minister for sport and the Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language will be having, or are already having, important discussions with the Football Association of Wales and local authorities and other partners to ensure that as many people as possible get to enjoy watching those games and feel the atmosphere around them. So, again, I'm sure that there will be a statement coming forward in due course.

Just one request for a statement and one for a debate, both involving health. You will have heard, I'm sure, in the press and media last week the heartbreaking case of my constituent Thomas Griffith Jones, who has dementia but is facing being moved to Stafford because of his intensive care needs. The Government has said—the First Minister said in response to an oral question that had a written response recently—that the Government's aim is that there is an expectation that every Welsh speaker with dementia will receive care in his or her language of choice, for clinical reasons. That clearly contradicts the reality of the situation. We know how crucial it is that one receives care in one's first language when dementia is a problem. Welsh is Twm's first language—his only language, if truth be told. I have spoken to the local authority. They are willing to co-operate as part of the regional partnership, but it's the responsibility of the health board ultimately, and the Welsh Government is responsible for Betsi Cadwaladr health board. The health Minister has told me that he will contact the chair of the health board. We need urgent action to secure care for Twm and similar cases. We need a statement to tell us what the Government is going to do now as a matter of urgency to increase capacity, because this isn't a unique case.

The second issue is on dental care. I'm in contact with many constituents who are struggling to find an NHS dentist. On Ynys Môn last week, I passed the latest concerns on to the health Minister. I'm also in contact with dentists, as it happens, who are keen to come to Ynys Môn to work and are being faced with barriers, including being told to go and work for some of the big multinational companies rather than through local surgeries, but I'm pursuing that elsewhere.

One case in particular involves a diabetic constituent. As a side effect of being prescribed Metformin, her teeth have all become loose. Her GP referred her to Ysbyty Gwynedd's oral department back in March. She was told she needed a dentist's referral. Ultimately, she had to go private, having also been refused a referral through the NHS emergency dentist unit in Llanfairpwll. Now, the private remedial work is estimated to cost around £5,000. She feels penalised for the side effect of her diabetes and the lack of access to NHS dental provision and is really not in a position to afford the necessary work. I've been banging on about this, as have other Members, since I have been elected here. We're still not seeing signs of improvement in dental provision in the north of Wales. We need a debate, we need it in Government time, and we need it soon.

Well, I'm familiar with the first issue you raise, which is that of the case of your constituent, Twm, and I can understand how deeply unsettling and upsetting this is for Twm and for his family as well because of course it's the expectation that people should be treated as close to home as possible and that they should have access to that expert service that they require. Clearly, we understand the importance of receiving services through the medium of Welsh, especially if that's your first language, because people tend to lose their second languages first when they do have dementia. I'm pleased that you've raised the case with the health Minister and that he has undertaken to discuss it with the chair of the health board. I know that he will give you the response or the result of those discussions as soon as possible. I'll also make him aware of your request for a debate on dentistry provision in north Wales specifically, especially given the circumstances that you've just described.

Thank you, Trefnydd.