3. Will the First Minister make a statement on the future of Welsh-medium education in South Wales East? OQ57532

Thank you very much to Delyth Jewell for that question, Llywydd. Demand for Welsh-medium education remains high in the region. The local authorities are about to present to Welsh Ministers their 10-year plan, setting out how they intend to grow Welsh-medium education locally in response to the ambition set out in 'Cymraeg 2050'.

Well, thank you very much for that. The 'Cymraeg 2050' strategy does refer to increasing the proportion of each school year group receiving Welsh-medium education from 22 per cent by 2031. There are counties in the south-east where there isn't a single Welsh-medium secondary school. But, even in the primary sector, there are areas that are missing out. Since the closure of the Ysgol Gymraeg Rhyd-y-Grug site in Quakers Yard, there is no convenient Welsh-medium school for primary pupils living in the village. The same is true of Treharris in the county of Merthyr, and Nelson, just over the border in Caerphilly. A primary school in that area could serve a large number of pupils: children who either travel long distances on a bus every morning and every afternoon, or who can't access Welsh-medium education. I understand that councils have a responsibility here, but, First Minister, children and families are missing out on a golden opportunity to access Welsh-medium education. Could you take this forward, First Minister, and work with the councils and encourage them to work together to find ways to ensure that children in Nelson and Quakers Yard can have easy access to Welsh-medium education? 

Well, I thank Delyth Jewell for that supplementary question. And it's wonderful to have such a question on the day where we are celebrating the centenary of the Urdd, which, of course, has done so much work to promote the Welsh language among young people. As I've heard when I've been in conversation with officials working on the Welsh in education strategic plans, they have developed the ambition that we were hoping to see in the new plans. And, of course, that does respond to the comments made by Delyth Jewell. We are trying to develop the Welsh language in all parts of the region, and throughout the whole of Wales too, particularly with primary schools. I haven't personally seen the WESPs yet. They will be submitted to Ministers in the coming week, and I do look forward to seeing plans in each and every local authority in the South East Wales region to see what more can be done to bring more children into Welsh-medium education.

When we look at the secondary sector, what we want to see is local authorities collaborating. Where they can't make provision alone, then, they should seek to collaborate with other local authorities in order to deliver Welsh-medium secondary education, which is convenient for children and of a quality where we see the Welsh language continuing to develop. 

May I just declare that I am still a Monmouthsire county councillor? Thank you for that answer to Delyth's supplementary, First Minister. And, further to that, can I just say that providing more Welsh-medium school places across Wales is critical to achieving the Welsh Government's target of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050. So, I am sure the First Minister will join me in welcoming the news that Monmouthshire County Council's ambitious 10-year plan to double the Welsh-medium school places across the county. Access to Welsh-medium schools in some rural areas is really difficult, and the distance that some would have to travel often deters parents from choosing a Welsh language school for their children. In many rural constituencies across Wales, transport options still remain one of the biggest barriers to parents sending their children to Welsh-medium schools. First Minister, will you and your Government please relook at the current transport requirements and needs for children wishing to attend Welsh-medium education in rural areas across Wales to ensure it is sufficient to meet the needs of parents, children and local authorities? Will you look to invest in this area to ensure, alongside our local authorities, that transport no longer means a barrier to take up Welsh-medium education? Thank you.

I'm hoping the First Minister will have heard that well enough to answer. There was a problem with your microphone, so if we can have that checked technically before you contribute next time, but I think it was clear enough, just about, wasn't it, First Minister?

Yes, diolch, Llywydd. I thank the Member for that question. Of course, I do welcome very much the growth in Welsh-medium provision in the county of Monmouth and congratulate those who are involved in fostering that growth. It's not that long ago the National Eisteddfod was held very successfully in the county, where Laura Jones's colleague Peter Fox did a great deal to promote that possibility and to make that a success. So, where there is strong local leadership, even in parts of Wales where the language isn't the strongest, we can still achieve very significant growth.

I recognise the points that the Member makes, of course, about the convenience of education through the medium of Welsh and the need to make sure that travel is considered when those plans are being made, and I can assure her that the Ministers responsible—the Minister for education and the Minister with responsibility for transport, Lee Waters—were discussing at the Cabinet only this week ways in which we can deal with some of the complexities that are there in school transport, and put that to work to support our ambitious plans for growing the number of young people receiving education through the medium of Welsh in order to reach our 2050 target.