Questions from the party spokespeople next. Conservative spokesperson, Samuel Kurtz. 

Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, Merched y Wawr were in touch with me recently, outlining concerns that Welsh speakers are facing challenges in terms of face-to-face banking services and online services through the medium of Welsh. So, what steps are your Government taking to ensure that businesses across Wales operate bilingually? And what additional support is provided to those businesses that are failing to comply with these standards?

Well, we have several ways of supporting businesses across Wales to provide services through the medium of Welsh. I pay tribute to the work that the mentrau iaith do in every community in Wales to support the local economy to provide those kinds of services, as well as the Helo Blod service, which provides a translation service, and Helo Blod Lleol, which operates through the mentrau iaith, to do exactly what the Member is talking about. But, I’m also aware of banking provision being limited in some parts of Wales. I know of specific examples of that. And that’s an issue for businesses, but, as the question said, it’s an issue for other societies as well. We’ve been looking, as the Member knows, at the impact over the past year, of changes, including in terms of COVID, on Welsh-speaking organisations in our communities and we have an action plan to deal with the requirements that have arisen as a result.

Thank you. We’re all agreed that we want to see an increase in the number of Welsh speakers in all parts of Wales. Often Tenby, in the middle of my constituency, is considered a traditionally Welsh-speaking community, but the Welsh-medium school, Ysgol Hafan y Môr, has been described by a local councillor as 'bursting at the seams', and Ysgol Caer Elen in Haverfordwest is also full. With the increase in demand from parents for their children to attend Welsh-medium schools, how does the Minister intend to support this increasing demand and to ensure that funding for current educational provision is not affected?

Well, the Member is entirely right in saying that the demand for Welsh-medium education in some parts of Wales isn’t being fulfilled at the moment, so there is a need for increased ambition for provision in some communities across Wales. But, at the moment, as the Member will know, the local authorities are working on their strategic plans to provide Welsh-medium education in their areas, so that these will then come into force next year, more or less. I expect to see those plans in January. They've been working with officials in Welsh Government and with their local language fora to ensure what I want to see in those plans—that they are ambitious and that they don't just meet the demand, but also contribute to generating that demand, and that they explain and sell, as it were, that idea of Welsh-medium education. But, as the Member says, in some communities, that already happens—that demand is greater than the provision. So, on top of what we're doing, we, this year, have provided a wider fund to build Welsh-medium primary schools. I hope there will be creative ideas for spending that money.

Thank you. And when you made your statement on 'Cymraeg 2050' before the summer recess, I asked this question of you, but, unfortunately, I didn't receive a response. You said that you want to encourage young Welsh speakers to return from university to help to teach through the medium of Welsh in our schools. I drew attention to the fact that this makes it more difficult to recruit teachers from outwith Wales, and therefore reduces the mix of skills and backgrounds that new teachers bring to our schools. So, can you now explain how the Welsh Government intends to ensure that anyone who wants to teach in Wales, but doesn't currently have those language skills, can find a job as a teacher in Wales? Thank you.

Well, it is possible for people to teach in Wales even though they don't have specific language skills. What we want to see—. And we have a pilot scheme being developed at the moment with the National Centre for Learning Welsh to encourage students in our universities to work as teachers through the medium of Welsh or to teach Welsh in our schools. We'll be announcing further details of that pilot in due course, but it is being developed at the moment.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Siân Gwenllian.

Thank you, Llywydd. I was very pleased to see that the number of positive COVID tests in schools had reduced significantly over the past week—and I'm sure you yourself were also pleased with that—a reduction of 44 per cent. But schools continue to be in a very vulnerable position, of course, with some classes with as many as 50 per cent having tested positive for COVID. The Welsh Government's chief scientific adviser, Dr Rob Orford, has drawn attention to another issue of concern, namely the fact that the reemergence of other respiratory conditions that were prevented during the last lockdown could cause problems in future months. That is, children could be infected by COVID and another respiratory illness—flu, colds and so on and so forth. Now, this is a concern. Can you give us an assessment, or is the Government carrying out an assessment, of this particular risk, related to a lack of immunity among children? And in light of that, what steps will you take in order to ensure that schools are safe places over the winter?

Well, the plans that we already have in place—the frameworks that are in operation in all parts of Wales—the intention of that policy is to ensure that our schools are safe for our learners and our teachers and the wider workforce, and that the measures that are being taken in our classrooms and the wider schools estate reflect the requirements of the schools themselves, but also the local health context in terms of public health. In terms of the specific point that the Member mentioned, I will consider that, alongside the CSO, and I'll share that with the Members.

Thank you. That would be very useful, and I'm sure you would agree with me that ventilation in school buildings is crucially important, particularly now, given that people are being infected with more than one illness, which can make the problem worse.

I'd like to ask you about another problem on safety in schools, namely the issue of asbestos, and what's your response to the recent finding that there is asbestos in 60 per cent of Welsh schools. Recent information has revealed that there are more than 900 schools where there is asbestos. So, I'd like to know what steps the Welsh Government is taking to help local authorities and schools to monitor, and, more importantly, to actually get rid of asbestos.

Well, thank you for that further question. Through the revenue support grant funding that we provide to local authorities, it is possible to use that source of funding to ensure that their schools get to grips with this particular situation. But we're also working with the Health and Safety Executive and with Ystadau Cymru to support good practice to deal with asbestos in schools and in college buildings too. And we also provide specific guidelines for local authorities to assist them to get to grips with their responsibilities in terms of monitoring, and, where required, to get rid of asbestos in their schools.

You will appreciate that the unions particularly are asking for urgent action on this issue, and are hoping for some news to that end from you soon.

As a result of the pandemic, we know that schools, staff and pupils have been under huge pressures and stresses. A recent report by the National Academy for School Leadership in Wales highlights how the pandemic has affected the well-being of educators, particularly school leaders. Their well-being has been affected because of increased workload, accountability measures, staffing and personnel matters, inspection issues, and also, of course, funding and budget management. So, there's been a huge burden on them. 

So, can you outline what steps you will take to ensure the well-being of our school leaders, and how will the Government respond to the pressures across a range of different areas as a result of the increased workload in terms of inspections and budget management?

Well, this is a very important point and I want to acknowledge the pressure that school leaders and teachers are facing at present, but also over the past year and beyond. I was discussing on Tuesday morning with local authorities and education unions, and the wider education workforce, and I asked them to pass on our thanks as a Government, and I'm sure, as a Senedd, to their workforces for what they've been doing in very difficult circumstances over the past year. 

In terms of specific provision to support the well-being and mental health of school leaders, we have been doing a variety of things. The whole school framework for well-being includes interventions that support teachers and leaders as well, as well as specific interventions by Education Support and others, so that they have space to be able to deal with the pressures that have been a reality for them over the past year. 

In terms of further resources, we have, through renew and reform, provided significant sums of funding to recruit additional staff to alleviate some of the pressure on school leaders to deal specifically with the impact of COVID. So, that has had the effect of increasing provision and increasing the capacity in our schools. And also, in terms of the question of accountability and assessment, the Member will know of the steps that I outlined over the summer in terms of lifting some of those requirements over this past period, understanding fully that the pressure that follows on as a result of that isn't welcomed at the moment as schools deal with the challenges of COVID and so on.

And, in addition to that, we have a working group with local authorities and unions that is working on the measures that we can take to decrease the bureaucratic requirements on our schools to ensure that we shoulder some of that burden. 

Question 3 [OQ56955] is withdrawn. Question 4, Jack Sargeant.