Not timed: the Record publishes no broadcast time for this contribution, so Siambr cannot place it on the stage.
Contributions
62 contributions on record. Newest first, by sitting day. Page 2 of 2. Counted by Siambr
- on the clip
Diolch, Weinidog. During the election campaign, I met a family where a young mother and her 18-month-old child were still living at home with her parents because they simply had nowhere else to go. Sadly, that is the reality facing many families across Bangor Conwy Môn. So, can the Minister tell us how many households are currently waiting for social housing in Bangor Conwy Môn, whether that number is going up or down, and when families like this one I met can realistically expect to see the waiting list reduced? Diolch yn fawr.
- Not timed: the Record publishes no broadcast time for this contribution, so Siambr cannot place it on the stage.
8. Pa sicrwydd wnaiff y Prif Weinidog ei roi i gymunedau gwledig y bydd sylw gwirioneddol yn cael ei roi i bryderon lleol pan fydd prosiectau ynni gwynt ar raddfa fawr yn cael eu hystyried? OQ64189
Official English translation
8. What assurances will the First Minister provide rural communities that local concerns will be given genuine weight when large scale wind energy projects are being considered? OQ64189
- on the clip
Diolch. First Minister, residents are repeatedly told that their views matter, yet when developments of national significance are involved, the final decision can rest with Welsh Ministers rather than locally elected councillors. Does the First Minister accept that this creates a democratic deficit, and what assurances can he give communities that local opposition will not simply be overridden in pursuit of Welsh Government targets? Diolch yn fawr.
- on the clip
Diolch i'r Gweinidog Cabinet dros Addysg a'r Iaith Gymraeg am ei datganiad heddiw. Mae llawer iawn y medraf gytuno ag ef yn y datganiad yna. Yn amlwg, mae gwneud yn siŵr ein bod ni'n recriwtio athrawon ar gyfer pynciau allweddol yn bwysig iawn o ran llenwi bylchau. Mae denu athrawon i mewn i'r proffesiwn yn hollbwysig, ac edrychaf ymlaen i glywed sut yn union y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn ariannu'r cynnig hwn.
Official English translation
I thank the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language for the statement this afternoon. There's much that I can agree with in that statement. Clearly, making sure that we recruit teachers into key subjects is vitally important in order to fill gaps. Attracting teachers into the profession is crucial, and I look forward to hearing exactly how the Welsh Government will fund this offer.
- on the clip
What concerns me ever so slightly about the statement is while there's been a lot of emphasis on recruitment, there's not quite enough detail when it comes to retention. What precisely is the Welsh Government going to do to retain the teaching workforce we already have? Cabinet Minister, you acknowledged in your statement today that too many educators leave the profession too early and that we need to keep them in the classroom. On that point, I agree, but the question is: how? What specifically is going to change for teachers working in our schools? Having been a teacher myself, I understand why many are leaving the profession. Despite successive recruitment drives, Wales continues to struggle with teacher retention. We're losing experienced teachers faster than we can replace them. That concern is only amplified by our shared ambitions for bilingual and Welsh-medium education. The challenge is not simply finding teachers; it's finding teachers with the language skills needed to deliver those ambitions. Every experienced bilingual teacher who leaves the profession is not easily replaced. If we're already struggling to retain the workforce we have today, how can the Government realistically hope to deliver the workforce it will need tomorrow? Cabinet Minister, you say that you want to address issues associated with workload, but I would like to know, and I think teachers would like to know, what exactly that means. Where are the tangible changes our current teachers can expect to see? So far, there's been very little detail about what workload reduction would look like in practice. Thinking of the secondary sector, for example, would there be time off timetables to mark mock exams and controlled assessments? More notably, there was very little mention of what has undoubtedly become one of the biggest problems facing education, and that is the deterioration of pupil behaviour in schools. Cabinet Secretary, where is the confidence and determination to get to grips with the rise of violence in schools? A recent Welsh teaching union survey found that 43 per cent of teachers had been shoved or barged by pupils, 12 per cent had been hit or punched, 9 per cent had been kicked, and 3 per cent reported being headbutted. Almost half—and this is particularly distressing—said that they felt blamed when raising those concerns about poor behaviour. Behaviour is now one of the biggest barriers to teacher retention, yet today's statement has remarkably little to say about it. A teacher in my constituency, for example, recently said, 'For the first time in my 25-year career, I don't feel safe in school'. I really don't think today's statement will have instilled much confidence in our teaching workforce that the Welsh Government intends to get to grips with violent behaviour or unsustainable workloads. And if it can't get to grips with those two things, we will continue to lose our teachers. Cabinet Secretary, in your statement today, you also said the education system is currently failing too many of our children and young people, and on that point, I absolutely agree. But what I find slightly extraordinary is that Plaid Cymru now seems to be talking about the state of Welsh education, as though they spent the last 26 years glued to the opposition benches. Plaid Cymru has spent years helping Labour govern Wales, shaping budgets, legislation and education policy. Indeed, Plaid Members are often keen to remind us of the achievements delivered through their agreements with Labour, whether that's free school meals, childcare expansion or other policies. They're more than happy to stand up and claim the credit for those successes. But Plaid Cymru can't have it both ways. If they want to claim credit for the successes of working with Labour, they must also accept responsibility for the failures. They cannot claim ownership of free school meals one minute, then pretend to be an innocent bystander when educational standards fall short the next, because teachers, parents and pupils don't care which party gets the credit. They care about outcomes. And after more than two decades of Labour Government, supported at various times by Plaid Cymru, those outcomes simply aren't good enough. So, I end by asking this: can you reassure this Senedd that you are speaking directly to teachers and teaching unions about how exactly your Government will improve teacher working conditions? Because the reality is that recruitment alone will not solve this problem. A change of culture is needed. You can recruit all the new teachers you like, but if your experienced teachers continue leaving the profession, Welsh education will simply be running to stand still. Every one of us here can remember a teacher who changed our lives. The problem is that experience takes years to build, but only a moment to lose. If this Government fails to address workload and behaviour in detail, Wales will continue to lose our best teachers, and when teachers leave, it is not the Ministers who pay the price, it is our children. Diolch yn fawr.
- on the clip
Reform recognises the importance of school support staff in the delivery of education and fostering a better future for our young people here in Wales. However, the creation of yet another quango is not the answer. We in Reform want to see quangos brought in-house to save taxpayers' money and reduce the tax burden on Welsh people. We don’t want to see new ones created. While we have sympathy for the proposals for year-round pay for school support staff, there will, of course, be financial implications to implementing that policy and we would not like to see more money diverted from our schools. Thank you.
- on the clip
First Minister, Plaid Cymru's manifesto promised business rates reform to support local high streets and independent businesses. No-one expects reform overnight, but businesses do expect a Government with a plan. Can you tell us today when that plan will be published and when businesses will start to see the benefit? Diolch.
- on the clip
Weinidog, diolch i chi am eich datganiad. Dwi'n amau bod pawb yn y Siambr hon yn cytuno bod lleihau tlodi plant a helpu teuluoedd gyda chost byw yng Nghymru yn amcanion pwysig iawn.
Official English translation
Minister, thank you very much for your statement. I suspect that everyone in this Chamber would agree that reducing child poverty and helping families with the cost of living in Wales are very important objectives.
- on the clip
It's actually a refreshing change to hear Wales being prioritised, given your commitment to overseas spending, such as planting trees in foreign countries and pointless vanity offices in Brussels and Beijing. Every child deserves the best possible start in life, and affordable childcare can play an important role in helping parents into work. However, having listened carefully to your statement, I was struck by what was missing. You spoke of respect, solidarity and fairness. You spoke of transformational change. You spoke of expert groups, planning, testing and future phases of expansion. But what families across Wales need today is clarity. Your manifesto promised what you describe as the most generous childcare offer anywhere in the United Kingdom. That is a significant commitment. Yet, today, we have heard very little about how much this policy will cost, where the funding will come from or when parents can realistically expect it to be delivered. The Welsh public are entitled to know the answers to those questions. We are all aware of the financial pressures facing Wales. Local authorities are under strain, the NHS remains under enormous pressure, schools are facing difficult budget decisions, businesses continue to struggle with rising costs. Against that backdrop, it's entirely reasonable to ask how a universal childcare offer of this scale will be funded. Minister, your manifesto was presented to voters as a fully costed programme for government. If that is the case, surely the Government already knows the total cost of this policy, surely it already knows where the money will come from, and surely it already has a road map for delivery. Yet today's statement appears to suggest that many of those details are still being worked through by a newly established expert steering group. So, I would be grateful if you could provide some clarity. Can you tell the Senedd today what the estimated total cost of delivering this childcare offer will be? Can you explain which budgets or funding streams will be used to pay for it? And can you set out a clear timetable for delivery so that parents, childcare providers and local authorities know exactly what to expect and when?
- on the clip
Dydy teuluoedd ledled Cymru ddim angen cyhoeddiad arall am grŵp gweithio; maent angen hyder fod yr addewidion a wnaeth gael eu gwneud cyn yr etholiad yn wirioneddol mynd i gael eu cyflawni. Diolch yn fawr.
Official English translation
Families across Wales don't need another announcement on a working group; they need confidence that the pledges that were made prior to the election will truly be delivered. Thank you very much.
- on the clip
Fel rhywun sydd wedi dod yn syth o swydd dysgu yn y dosbarth i'r Senedd, dwi'n gwybod pa mor bwysig yw athrawon i ddyfodol Cymru. Bob dydd, mae athrawon yn gwneud llawer mwy na dysgu. Maen nhw'n cefnogi pobl ifanc, yn helpu teuluoedd ac yn gweithio o dan bwysau mawr. Ond, fel y gwn i, mae llawer o athrawon heddiw yn wynebu straen, problemau ymddygiad gan ddisgyblion a llwyth gwaith cynyddol. Mae hyn yn ei gwneud hi'n anodd cadw staff profiadol ac annog pobl ifanc i ddilyn gyrfa yn y proffesiwn. Felly, Brif Weinidog, beth fydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei wneud i ddiogelu a chefnogi athrawon yn y gweithle a sicrhau bod addysg yn yrfa ddeniadol yng Nghymru? Diolch yn fawr.
Official English translation
As one who has come straight from a classroom job as a teacher to the Senedd, I know how important teachers are to the future of Wales. Every day, teachers do much more than just teach. They support young people, help families and work under great pressure. But, as I know, many teachers today are facing stress, behavioural problems from pupils and an increasing workload. This makes it difficult to keep staff and to encourage young people to follow a career in the profession. So, First Minister, what will the Welsh Government do to safeguard and support teachers in the workplace and to ensure that education is an attractive career in Wales? Thank you.
- on the clip
Dan Thomas.
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Sources
The Record of Proceedings for each sitting day, quoted verbatim.