Part of 3. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 12:25 pm on 8 July 2020.
Thank you, Joyce, especially for the recognition of the hard work that has gone into making these opportunities available for children in Wales. It has been a huge collective effort on behalf of all those involved. One of the reasons why we did want to provide these opportunities, above and beyond education, is precisely for the reasons that you have described—so we can get to grips with some of the really wicked logistical issues around a safe return to schools for pupils and members of staff—and, clearly, transport is one of those. I must say that the vast majority of local authorities across Wales during this period have been able to ensure that those children who need transport have been able to access transport, but there have been logistical issues, undoubtedly. Only last night I met with a significant number of council leaders and trade unions to discuss issues around education. Transport, of course, was raised, and we will be working with both directors of education and transport leads in all 22 local authorities to address these issues prior to the new academic year.