Questions now from the party spokespeople. The Conservative spokesperson, Laura Jones.

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, I think we both share a desire for education to be futureproof in Wales, especially at a time post-Brexit, which is presenting and will present so many international opportunities going forward. We need to ensure that pupils from Wales have the very best chances and are truly able to compete on a global stage. I spoke recently in the Chamber about the benefits of providing both modern and international languages across our educational settings, so I won't repeat. And it seems clear, from the money that the Welsh Government have put into this aspect of learning, that you acknowledge those benefits also, Minister. So, I'm wondering how, even though you've ploughed a total of £5.7 million into your Welsh Government's Global Futures programme, with the funding increased 71.8 per cent since 2015, GCSE entries in French and German have declined by 41.2 per cent and 45 per cent respectively. By contrast, in England, there were noticeable increases in French and English from 2019-20. And for the first time since records began, in England, Spanish attracted over 100,000 entries—almost double the 2005 total. It is clear that, in comparison, Minister, something in the Global Futures programme is failing. Could you please explain to the Senedd how any new moneys for this failing programme are going to reverse this downward trend? Thank you.

Well, I would dispute the impression that the question gives, I'm afraid, which is that this is a Wales-specific challenge. That doesn't make it any less of a challenge in Wales, but it does tell us something about the nature of the challenge, which is that there's a picture of a general decline, actually, in modern foreign languages right across the UK. So, I think it's an unhappy situation that all four parts of the UK have to wrestle with. I do think that the work that partners through the Global Futures programme have been doing has—. The focus of that has been to promote and to raise the profile of modern foreign languages in schools in Wales generally. We are working with Estyn, with the regional consortia, with universities, with Qualifications Wales, and, in that mix, there's a wealth of experience and resources in addition to support our schools in Wales. But I think one of the key opportunities for us, as we bring forward the new curriculum, and the reform to our qualifications, is to widen the choice available to our learners, and I think that extra flexibility we anticipate will help us in this challenge as well.

Thank you, Minister. I'll just repeat: by contrast, in England, there were noticeable increases in French and Spanish from 2019-20, and that, since records began, Spanish has increased to 100,000 plus. It's completely different to our numbers, which are declining. Also, we have seen the modern foreign language teachers numbers in German and French decline by 14 per cent and 15 per cent respectively over the last five, six years. Is one of the causes of the Global Futures programme failing the lack of teachers coming forward, and, if so, what steps are you doing to rectify that, please, particularly, as you said, because the new curriculum presents us with so many opportunities, as does, potentially, changing the school day? So, we need to have these teachers in place so people are able to have those modern language opportunities if they desire, going forward. Thank you.

I agree with the challenge that the Member describes in terms of recruitment. We have, of course, got an incentive scheme to encourage teachers into subjects such as some of the ones that she's referred to, which have been challenging in terms of recruitment in the past. And actually, those schemes do in fact lead to beneficial outcomes. I do think that it's a mix of challenges, really. One of the aspects of our education reform that I think may have a bearing on how this could look different in the future is the internationalisation of the education system generally in Wales through the Taith programme, which, although probably the focus has been on higher education, also benefits further education, schools as well, and youth services. So, I think there's a very exciting opportunity as part of that to raise the profile in our schools, alongside the new curriculum, of the importance of modern foreign languages, as well as the teaching of Welsh, of course. 

Thank you, Minister. Now moving to a more sobering subject, but an important one to address today, Minister, the situation in Ukraine is heartbreaking, and certainly not something I'm sure any of us thought we'd ever see again in Europe. It was made clear yesterday that we all want to see Wales as a refuge for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict. In order to accommodate the children and give them the education they need and deserve when they are here, we need to be prepared. 

Minister, with a general lack of teachers across Wales, and a large number of schools oversubscribed, what steps are you taking to ensure that we are able to welcome these children into our Welsh education system with open arms?

Well, I dispute the point that the Member makes in terms of the general lack of teachers in our system. I don't think that's a remotely fair reflection of the situation that we are in, but I would associate myself with the sentiment in her question about how important it is for us in Wales to be able to extend our welcome to those leaving and fleeing Ukraine. And the Member will have heard the points that the First Minister made yesterday in the Chamber in relation to our ambitions as a nation in relation to that, and you may also have heard the comments that there are discussions with local government partners in relation to how we can work together to make sure that we are best placed to welcome those who may move here—and we hope that they do—and that will be part of those discussions. 

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Sioned Williams. 

Thank you, Llywydd, and I'd like to declare an interest that my husband works for Swansea University. 

Today, students from Wales are taking part in a strike organised by the National Union of Students, and the aim of the strike is to imagine a new vision for education, and is also a show of support for the industrial action taken by members of University and College Union, which has seen staff at Swansea University and the Open University in Wales strike over insecure contracts, unfair workloads and cuts to their pensions. This new vision of accessible and fully-funded higher and further education, with proper pay, pensions and conditions for staff is something we desperately need.

On 28 January, the UK Government's universities Minister announced that the repayment threshold and interest rate thresholds applying to plan 2 and plan 3 student loans would be frozen in 2022-23. The thresholds have previously risen with average earnings. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said this effectively constitutes a tax rise by stealth on graduates.

Minister, you have confirmed that the freeze would apply to Welsh graduates, despite education policy and significant parts of the student finance system being devolved. The Welsh Government seem powerless to oppose this freeze, which will add hundreds of pounds on to the tax bills of Welsh graduates already facing the effects of the cost-of-living crisis, and this isn't the only area where students are facing increasing costs. The average student rent in Wales has risen by 29 per cent in the last three years, which now, in fact, means it now takes 60 per cent of the maximum student support package in Wales, and all the while we know students are facing a rise in energy bills as a result of the incoming price cap increase. 

So, can I ask the Minister what the Welsh Government is doing to support students and graduates during the cost-of-living crisis? Diolch. 

Can I just comment on the first point that the Member makes in relation to our ambitions for the education system in Wales? And I agree with her that the principle that underpins the higher education system in Wales is much more progressive than the ones that she was describing as happening over the border in terms of student finance. She will obviously know that every Welsh full-time undergraduate student receives a minimum of £1,000-worth of grant and additional support, regardless of where they choose to study in the UK, and we have a more progressive policy in relation to part-time study as well. 

I think a less remarked, or a less often spoken about, difference that we have in Wales as well is that the Welsh Government makes provision to cancel up to £1,500 of maintenance loan debt for each student that starts repayment. That's the only part of the UK that does that, and we're very proud of having a more progressive system of finance here in Wales. 

In relation to the point that she made about the loan threshold, which I made a written statement about in the last week or so, part of the challenge that we face here in Wales is that, whereas a lot of the powers sit in our hands in relation to student finance, the implementation of a different policy on the ground is not in our hands. That's a question for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in many respects and other non-devolved bodies. And, when a policy decision is made, as it was in this case, at very short notice, it provides really no room to be able to respond to it in a different way here in Wales. She will have seen, though, in the last few days a range of other proposals that have come out from the UK Government in relation to student finance reform, and I have asked officials to work with Treasury officials and UK Government officials to see what better room for manoeuvre we can have in Wales so that we can make different choices here than those that are made in very different circumstances across the border. 

Diolch, Weinidog. Qualifications Wales was established in August 2015, and is an independent regulatory body set up to ensure that qualifications are effective for meeting the reasonable needs of learners in Wales and to promote public confidence in qualifications and the Welsh qualifications system. Qualifications Wales must produce an annual report detailing how it has exercised its functions. However, there is no legal requirement for Qualifications Wales to be reviewed independently after a set time frame. The current arrangements do not allow for regular independent review to ensure that the body is working in the best interests of the education sector and has the appropriate powers to fulfil its purpose, especially when we think now of the substantial changes currently being made to qualifications and GCSEs that we've seen recently. 

In England, Ofqual employs a standards advisory board, made up of independent assessment specialists, to review research and make recommendations on maintaining standards. Similarly, the Scottish Qualifications Authority Act 2002 ensured that an advisory council was established as a part of the SQA. This council provides consistent advice to SQA and Scottish Ministers and allows for incidental or supplementary provision as Scottish Ministers think fit. So, I'd be interested to hear whether the Minister agrees it would be beneficial for Qualifications Wales to follow these examples of statutory governance structures and to be regularly and independently reviewed to help meet the core aims of the body. Diolch.  

Well, I will need to remind myself in a different context of the statutory underpinning of some of the points that the Member raises in her question and some of the particular questions of detail around governance that she refers to, and I'm very happy to do that. But what I would say at the moment is that there is a very significant programme of reform under way in relation to qualifications in Wales, where I know, in the discussions that we've had in the co-operation agreement, we have a common ambition that there is an ambitious and radical set of reforms to our qualifications in Wales to reflect the new curriculum, but also to reflect the changing landscape in the vocational qualification world, for example. And there are a number of opportunities that we all have at this point in time to engage with Qualifications Wales to help shape some of that, so that the work that they undertake on our behalf commonly best reflects the needs of learners in Wales. So, I would encourage anybody with an interest in how those qualifications work in the real world and the benefit they bring to our learners to engage. There's a real opportunity for us all to do that now.