Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:47 pm on 24 March 2021.
Thank you very much, Siân. First of all, I'm just so pleased that we've been able to announce this additional funding. This isn't something that happens in England in the same way, and certainly the help that we've been able to provide to freelancers is something that has genuinely been appreciated because none of that is happening in England. Certainly, I was aware during the first phase that there was a problem because there were so many people and the process was difficult for some people to complete in time. So, by the time we go through all of the phases, we were confident that everyone who needed and wanted to apply had the opportunity to do that. So, no-one missed out. Maybe, in the first round and by the end of all the phases, we will have ensured that everyone who needed to apply will have had the opportunity to do that. So, I do hope that we won't see the problem that we saw during the first phase, not because of any problems that were deliberate, but just because of the capacity of the system to cope. So, we're in a different situation now. We know who applied the first time, so it'll be much easier because we'll have that information to hand. So, I do hope that the accessibility of the process will be much better.
And thank you very much for asking about the performing schools. I wasn't aware of that, and so I will go back and ask what the situation is with those.