Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. And I'd like to thank colleagues for the opportunity to discuss our higher and further education sectors, both of which I am incredibly proud to have worked alongside during these most difficult of times. And that is why, Deputy Presiding Officer, I am tabling the Government's amendment, which extends our thanks, as a Parliament, to the efforts of students, colleges and universities in Wales, for their resilience, their adaptability and their persistence in meeting the challenges created by this pandemic.

Like our schools, colleges and universities did not close during the initial lockdown period. Since March, they have continued to deliver teaching, assessment and research remotely. But they have also gone above and beyond to support our national response to COVID-19, through new training programmes with local health boards, providing accommodation to key workers and providing vital equipment and PPE to our hospitals. And I'd like to thank David Melding for his contribution, highlighting the research that has been going on, throughout this period, to help us as a nation and, indeed, the United Kingdom to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 and what we must do to support our nation as we continue to face these challenges. 

We fully recognise the disruption that has been caused to learning, particularly in further education colleges, and that is why we have provided an additional £11 million to colleges to cover the additional costs of teaching support for learners who may have missed learning earlier in the year. And that is coupled with a further £4 million to school sixth forms as well. And I have to say to my Conservative colleagues that catch-up money in England deliberately excluded the FE sector, and we have not done that here in Wales.

We have also allocated a further £5 million to support vocational learners to return to college to help them achieve their licence to practice qualifications, and another £3.2 million for post-16 learners in colleges and adult learning to provide digital equipment to facilitate online learning. And I have to say that during the pandemic, in my many meetings with vice-chancellors, they spoke very highly of their ability to engage learners online, and they told me, ad nauseam, that they were very proud of the fact that they were able to deliver and engage so many of their learners in online activities. And that's what college principals were saying in the height of the pandemic. 

And in higher education, part of our additional funding will be for investment in learning technologies and blended learning facilities to help universities maintain a high quality of student experience. Now, I understand that some students will have concerns about their university and college's ability to ensure continuity of a high-quality, equitable and enriching education as a result of the disruption that has come, and is likely to come, as a result of this pandemic. In colleges we were already on the road towards a vision for post-16 learning that blended face-to-face and digital activities well before COVID-19. I want this to accelerate during this academic year, building on the many examples of exciting and innovative teaching that we have seen during the lockdown period.

Our universities have committed to providing an innovative and supportive learning environment this term, through a mix of online and face-to-face provision. And I am very confident, even if some people in this Chamber are not, that they can deliver on this commitment. Given the national student surveys have shown in recent years that Welsh universities lead the way in student satisfaction, indeed, surveys during the pandemic showed that students domiciled in Wales felt that their university had supported them better during the lockdown than students in other parts of the United Kingdom. And can I make it clear to Laura Anne, all Welsh universities, every single one of them, will deliver blended learning during this period?

Now, in line with other Governments, we would advise higher education students, who may feel that their provision has not been of a sufficient quality during this time, to consider their institution's own processes for redress, and those of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education. And I and my officials maintain a close working relationships with the OIAHE, to monitor the volume and the nature of any students' complaints coming from Wales.