2. Will the Minister provide an update on the delivery of post-16 education for learners in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ55084

Post-16 delivery in Wales supports access to a range of programmes that support lifelong learning. Whether it's upskilling to access employment, a first step into post-16, or a return to learning, delivery serves to improve economic prosperity and to ensure that people in all areas are equipped for their futures.

Thank you, Minister. And I'm sure you'll want to join me in congratulating Merthyr College on being nominated for the TES further education college of the year award 2020. The nomination recognises outstanding achievements, continually improving learner outcomes, and their overall contribution to training for learners. And, as our First Minister said on his visit to the college last autumn, it is one of the great success stories of devolution. However, in spite of such success, the future of their funding arrangements remains a concern, especially around our departure from the European Union. Now I believe such funding has had a massive impact on the quality of the learning experience, as the college has been able to provide improved learner retention, completion rates, and contributed to a year-on-year increase in overall success rates. So, are you yet able to give any assurance that EU moneys currently being used to support learners at risk of dropping out of college—for example, on the Inspire to Achieve scheme—will be factored into the regional investment in Wales, and is such valuable learning secure as we leave the EU?

Well, Presiding Officer, I'm immensely proud of the success and the achievements of the FE sector in Wales. The fact that nominations have been made for six colleges, in total, from Wales in the TES 2020 awards is a testament to the good work that is going on across the sector. And I'd like to wish Merthyr College, and indeed other colleges that are nominated, all the very best when those awards take place on 20 March. The Member is right to draw attention to the issue of the successful use of EU funds by the FE sector. I wish I could give the Member some reassurance as to the continuation of those funding streams. Of course, that will be dependent on our calls as a Government for replacement funding from the UK Government to be met. In the meantime, we're continuing to work closely and productively with our stakeholders across Wales to put in place successor arrangements for Wales. And an important part of that is our regional investment for Wales's steering group, chaired by Huw Irranca-Davies, of which FE colleges are a part. And that forms an important part of that work, as we look to the future, now, to protect those particular funding streams and those successful programmes.

Again, with Dawn Bowden, I want to say the same thing—Merthyr Tydfil College is one of the top-performing further education colleges in Wales. And will you join me, Minister, in welcoming the news that Merthyr college is shortlisted for the TES further education college of the year award for 2020, which seeks to recognise and reward the achievement of the very best further education providers in the United Kingdom? Equally, the teachers and students must be congratulated, who have worked very hard to make sure that this sort of teaching and training rolls out in our other schools in the region. Thank you.

Presiding Officer, if the Member had missed it the first time around, I am incredibly pleased that Merthyr college finds itself subject to such nominations. And, as I said in my previous answer, I wish them—as well as Gower College, Bridgend College, Cardiff and Vale College, and Dolgellau construction and engineering team from the Llandrillo Menai Group—all the very best in those awards.

Does the Minister believe that the advantages of consolidation of post-16 education at Merthyr Tydfil College outweigh any reduction in choice or increase in travel times for those students who, in the past, have attended school sixth forms?  

The organisation of post-16 education is a matter for local areas. I believe in a mixed economy. I believe that both our sixth forms and our FE colleges provide really important opportunities for our young people. Of course, greater co-ordination across the post-16 sector and the ability for that sector to meet all the education and training needs of our local population form the bedrock of our post-compulsory education and training proposals and my determination to establish a commission for tertiary education and research.