2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:35 pm on 26 January 2021.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Nick Ramsay Nick Ramsay Conservative 2:35, 26 January 2021

Trefnydd, could we have an update on the support available for parents managing homeworking and home schooling during the pandemic? I'm sure that this has been raised with you as a Member of the Senedd, as it's been raised with me. As a parent myself, who often has a toddler with me in the room when I attend some Zoom meetings, I'm aware of the pressures that parents are under. Children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, mustn't be allowed to slip further behind educationally, relative to previous generations. So, could we have a statement from the—well, I imagine the Minister for Education, on that?

Secondly, hopefully the vaccine roll-out means that we will soon be turning a corner in the pandemic. As thoughts turn to trying to rebuild the economy, could we have a statement from the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales on a strategy, or the developing strategy, for investing in greener technology and industries? I'm concerned that, for all the talk of doing things differently and building back better, it will be too easy for us to lapse back into pre-COVID ways as we do come out of this, and people relax. So, yes, we've got to get businesses back on their feet, but at the same time we've got to make sure that we do grasp the opportunity to transform the economy and make it greener—a greener and more affluent Wales.