2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:36 pm on 26 January 2021.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 2:36, 26 January 2021

Thank you. Welsh Government very much shares the concern that Nick Ramsay has described, about the impact of the pandemic on children, particularly those in more disadvantaged communities. And that's one of the reasons why we've invested so heavily in supporting young people and children to get all the digital help that they need. You'll be aware of the recent announcement of nearly £12 million of further funding to take the number of laptops and tablets that we've provided to children and families across Wales up to over 133,000. And we're obviously aware that many children also have difficulties getting online in the first place, so we've provided nearly 11,000 MiFi devices to help children access the internet to undertake their work. So, there's a great deal of work going on there, but I don't underestimate the challenges that this places on parents and families, and I know that the education Minister will be listening carefully to that contribution.

And again, my colleague, the Minister for economy, will be keen, I know, in due course, to update colleagues on the response to the economic crisis, which we're also facing as part of the pandemic, and what we can do to build back better—that kind of green and fair recovery that we're all so keen to see. I think we're standing in good stead with our economic contract, and the fact that that includes specific requirements in terms of decarbonisation. So, we have some good groundwork to build on. We have a budget that, last year and this year, has made significant allocations in respect of decarbonisation, and biodiversity. So, I think, again, we're building from a good place, but both colleagues will have heard the requests for statements.