The next statement is the business statement, and I call the Trefnydd.

Diolch, Llywydd. There are two changes to this week's business. The Minister for Health and Social Services will deliver a statement shortly on the coronavirus, and as a result, the statement on Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been postponed. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

May I ask for a statement from the education Minister regarding guidance issued to local authorities over school admission policy? Currently, Newport City Council's school admission department will only accept medical evidence provided by a consultant for a child or young person to be considered for a specific school when the local authority needs to apply oversubscription criteria. We all know the pressure that the NHS is under. To wait for a medical consultant appointment, and thereafter a report from a consultant, seems to be duly unnecessary and takes up the consultant's valued time when the child or young person already has a medical diagnosis. Minister, it concerns me greatly that the policy allows the local authorities to disregard the opinion and diagnosis of any other medical professional, including specialist services. Could I ask for a statement from the Minister on this important issue, please?

In the first instance, I would encourage Mohammad Asghar to write to the education Minister with his concerns regarding school admission policies and the associated guidance that goes alongside that, because the question that you asked does have some detail to it and it deserves a detailed response.

I understand that the chief executive of Natural Resources Wales visited Taff's Well this morning to speak to people who have been flooded. Last week I asked the Minister to come to the Rhondda with me to speak to residents about their experiences, and I want to convey a message to your Government from one of the residents in Ynyshir in the Rhondda. Mr Cameron says, and I quote, 'We have had approximately 14 houses affected by flooding at Ynyshir, along with approximately 13 vehicles, which are a total loss. You saw myself and a neighbour's son in the river, desperately trying to clear the dam with a saw before the arrival of the heavy rain that was forecast. Once again, we were left to sort ourselves out. I have been told that I will be out of my bungalow for nine to 12 months. I have lost the total contents of my bungalow and garage, and I'm basically homeless and without a car. I know that there are many other people in a similar situation and even worse off. The least the Minister for the environment can do, along with the chair and senior management of NRW, is come with you to see at first hand the devastation that they have caused. For your information, the water has never flooded over Avon Terrace bridge in over 100 years, and would not have done so on 16 February if Natural Resources Wales had done what they were supposed to do and kept the rivers free of debris.'

People in Ynyshir were flooded because of debris that built up under a bridge that went over the river. Now, I've also had requests from the people living in Pentre to speak to the Minister, as well as from people living in Porth who have lost garden walls that were previously defences against the river and who are also concerned about tree and debris build-up on bridges near their homes. As the Minister seems unable to respond to these visit requests and other questions that I asked in this Chamber, can you, as Business Minister, ask her and her officials to schedule a visit to the Rhondda with me as soon as possible so that she can fully appreciate the scale of the problem, as well as the strength of feeling in the various communities that have been affected by flooding in the Rhondda?

I recall, in response to your representations to the Minister on this particular issue, that she was happy to come to the Rhondda to undertake a visit. I know that she's already been to Rhondda Cynon Taf more widely on two occasions, and Members right across the Government have been visiting and speaking to people who are quite understandably completely distressed by the flooding. I've spoken to people within my own constituency of Gower. I've talked to people in Gorseinon and Gowerton who have been devastated by what's happened to them. So, it is distressing. I think it's fair to recognise that, at this stage, it is too early to come to a complete view on what caused the flooding to individual properties. You'll have heard the First Minister say in his First Minister's questions today that there is a statutory duty now for an investigation to be undertaken, and I think it's important to leave this part to the experts in terms of understanding and determining the causes of the flooding and also what can be done to prevent it happening again.

Could we have a statement, Minister, with reference to comments about the new education curriculum by a number of academics and educationalists? Chief amongst these are the Welsh Local Government Association and the National Association of Headteachers Cymru. Both contend that the challenge in implementing it is enormous. This follows on from the Association of Directors of Education in Wales also joining the WLGA in saying that pupils will not be taught enough of what really matters. Would the Minister also make a statement on the Estyn observation that transforming the whole education system is a complex and long-term undertaking and one that is estimated to take at least a decade? Given such comments, is it any wonder that teacher recruitment to primary schools has fallen by 10 per cent and to secondary schools by 40 per cent? Indeed, recruitment in subjects such as chemistry, ICT, maths and physics have fallen by as much as 50 per cent. Given these statistics, how can it be said that this new curriculum will teach people for the modern world when we cannot recruit teachers to embrace this new curriculum? There is no doubt that many teachers are puzzled at what to teach in the areas of learning and experience in order to meet the requisites of the four purposes. How much of the current curriculum can be used? Could we also have a response from the Minister, given that individual schools can decide how to implement the new curriculum to deliver on the four purposes? So, we have the propensity to arrive at a mixture of results across Wales, which could have an adverse effect on enhancing divisions in our society. 

David Rowlands raises a number of questions in relation to curriculum reform. I know that the Minister for Education does provide updates in various ways to colleagues in terms of curriculum reform, which I think it's fair to recognise is a long-term piece of work, and it's certainly a complex piece of work.

David Rowlands had some specific concerns regarding recruitment and STEM subjects particularly, so I would invite him to write to the Minister setting out that series of concerns that he has, and I'm sure that he will receive a response.

Could we have a debate on the celebration of the culture, heritage and natural beauty of the south Wales Valleys, and how these can contribute to the quality of life for residents and also act as an attraction for day visitors and tourists alike? Last Friday I was pleased to attend an event in the historic Nantymoel boys and girls club, which, thanks to a partnership between the Nantymoel boys and girls club and the Ogmore Valley community council, chaired by Leanne Hill, and Bridgend County Borough Council and others, has been totally regenerated with over £300,000-worth of investment, and has now become a community and heritage hub for the valley, in addition to the ongoing activities of young and old at the centre and the volunteer-run cafe, and much more. But the event celebrated the work of those and the hard-working Ogmore Valley local history society, and many other partners, to develop this hub and a dozen interpretation boards along the length of the beautiful Ogmore Valley cycle path from picturesque Blackmill to the awe-inspiring Bwlch mountains, telling the stories of our people and our communities. 

What strikes me, Minister, is how often these Glamorgan Valleys of the Garw, Ogmore and Gilfach are overlooked in the tourism brochures and the glossy promotions, yet are rich in interest for local people and for visitors, and hold the potential for developing real pride in where we come from, and jobs as well from people who come to cycle, walk and breathe the clean air, and stay a while, as we tell them the hidden stories of Iolo Morganwg, the Glamorgan poet and eisteddfodist, and Lynn 'the leap' Davies, who conquered the world in the long jump in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, using his familiarity with the atrocious conditions of wind and rain to outjump the world champions at the time. A debate would allow us, Minister, to explore how we can make more of the social and economic potential of these deep veins of history and fables, and how Welsh Government can help us tell the story of the Valleys to a far wider audience, to benefit us and to benefit Wales as well.

I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for that lovely picture of the things that happen within his community to celebrate the local heritage and, of course, the beautiful natural environment in the area that he represents. He also talked about the importance of local heritage in terms of our tourism offer, in terms of boosting our local economies, and also the social potential that it brings in terms of bringing communities together. Of course, the Minister with responsibility for tourism has been here to hear your contribution, and I'm sure that he will give the request for a debate due consideration, and also consider the points that you made about the importance of ensuring that your area has its place on the map, as it rightly should.

Thank you, Trefnydd.