Item 4 this afternoon is the 90-second statements. The first speaker is Huw Irranca-Davies.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. We all recognise the health and well-being benefits of getting out into the great outdoors, and walking is a great way to do that. But, we're not all going to head up Pen y Fan or Eryri, and nor should we have to. What if there was a way to work with people right across Wales to improve nature and access to walking in their local areas? That's a great idea, and it's well under way.

Throughout 2022 and 2023, the Paths to Wellbeing project has given 18 communities across Wales the tools and training to improve nature and access to walking in their local areas. Ramblers Cymru's flagship £1.2 million project is improving access to local green spaces, working on the ground with volunteers to give the tools and the free training needed to identify and design new routes and to enhance and upgrade existing ones. They're also working alongside the 22 local authorities, Wildlife Trust Wales, Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, and others to enhance the local environment for nature to thrive. With activities such as tree planting, wildflower sowing and wildlife activity days, there are plenty of activities for all ages and backgrounds to get involved with. It is led by the community for the community. By investing in local volunteers to manage and undertake practical path and habitat maintenance and improvements, community engagement, paths and green spaces will be strengthened, and the health and well-being benefits of nature and outdoor physical activity realised too. So, my thanks to Ramblers Cymru, of which I'm the proud vice president, and to all partners for this groundbreaking project right here in Wales.

Next Monday is the hundredth anniversary of radio broadcasting from Wales. It was launched in Cardiff from a room above a music shop on Castle Street and it was the first broadcasting venture outside London. Astonishingly, people from Pontypridd, Rhymney, Newport and Gwent all managed to tune into radio 5WA's inaugural broadcast. Astonishing, because, unless you could afford the equivalent of two weeks' wages to buy a wireless, you had to rely on some polymath amateur who'd mastered adapting upside down telephone microphones to build a crystal wireless, or perhaps you could have attended a listening party, such as the one that was held in City Hall in Cardiff. 

The wireless orchestra, all seven of them, had a repertoire that included contemporary favourites like Ivor Novello's My Life Belongs to You and Dafydd y Garreg Wen. The latter, sung by Mostyn Thomas from Blaenau Gwent, fresh from his 1922 Eisteddfod win, was historic because it was the first time ever that the Welsh language had ever been broadcast.

Now, these amateurs—they were all amateurs initially—burnt through five station managers in the first six weeks on air. The pioneer uncle Fred lasted all of two days. Uncle Arthur, on the other hand, had staying power. Arthur Corbett-Smith was very keen to ensure that the BBC for Wales and the west country was going to have a much more relaxed tone than what was broadcast from London. Though he fully subscribed to the Reithian principles of 'educate, entertain and inform,' he wanted them to take place in the same programme, not in silos. So, talks were billed as chats; London had Children's Hour, but Wales had The Hour of the 'Kiddiewinks'. If you want to learn more about this, hear the concert that's going to be broadcast on Monday, which I attended last Sunday when it was recorded. Equally, you can listen to the BBC's The Ministry of Happiness, a sitcom that's being broadcast at the moment that was launched in memory of these pioneering broadcasters.

I would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness of National Apprenticeship Week, which aims to celebrate and promote apprenticeships in Wales as a valuable pathway into work and the benefits that they bring to both individuals and employers. I would particularly like to highlight the work of ColegauCymru, which co-ordinates the network of 13 further education colleges to deliver high-quality apprenticeship programmes in a wide range of vocational areas, from junior to foundation level and higher apprenticeships. Wales's colleges have strong links to industry and highly established support systems for learners, including dedicated employment and enterprise bureaux that are now in every college in Wales. The FE sector is well placed to help deliver the skills necessary for learners to embark on successful careers and produce and retain a skilled workforce to help meet current and future demand for businesses and the Welsh economy.

I also want to take this opportunity to highlight two success stories from colleges in my region. Arjundeep Singh, a BTEC mechanical and electrical engineering student at Coleg y Cymoedd, has been awarded the student of the year and best work awards, as well as apprentice of the year at the Caerphilly Business Forum Awards. He is now due to start a full-time job at British Airways. Ffion Llewellyn, who is doing her A-levels at Cardiff and Vale College became their Welsh language ambassador, setting up weekly coffee mornings for the college's Welsh learners club, took a lead on the college's Learn Welsh TikTok account and has taken part in Welsh language well-being podcasts as part of Jason Mohammad's media academy. Ffion is now doing a Welsh language production apprenticeship with the BBC.

The apprenticeship programme is an essential element of the FE vocational offer, supporting college-based learning and delivery of support for skills and employability within the community. It is vital that we continue to work together to raise the profile and make clear that different pathways exist to accessing apprenticeships and allow our students access to the wide variety of roles that are available to them. Thank you.

Thank you to the three contributors.