, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Senedd Commission Draft Budget 2027-28: Evidence Session
Okay. Good morning, all. Thank you for being with us this morning, and thanks for sharing your report with us as well. We have around an hour and a quarter together, so I hope we can get through the questions as necessary. I just want to go through a couple…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Senedd Commission Draft Budget 2027-28: Evidence Session
Our first substantive item is item 3, which is scrutiny of the Senedd Commission draft budget 2027-28. We have our witnesses in front of us. Perhaps, Peredur Owen Griffiths, you want to introduce yourself and colleagues.
, Finance Committee
Papers to note
Item 2, our papers to note. We have three papers to note. Are Members content to do so? Yes. Thank you very much.
, Finance Committee
Introduction, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Bore da. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to our Finance Committee here on 8 October. I welcome all Members to the committee. In particular, we have two new Members of the committee today, Cai Parry-Jones and Dan Thomas. We also have Benjamin Hodge Mckenna…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Thank you.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
[Inaudible.]—on the point Catherine raised on RSE and your response, Minister, I think you said there are a range of views in society that need to be considered, but I assume you'd agree that not all views in society hold equal weight and have equal value.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Chair, could I come in—?
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Yes, sure. Thank you.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
I guess there is a link, though, Minister, isn't there, because when those schools do close down, the children are then probably educated in local state schools, and there's a cost to that. Are you getting much feedback from those schools and local…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Thank you. And do you, then, have any concerns about the number of independent schools closing in Wales, especially those that provide specialist provision and where local authorities have very important relationships? I recollect my time as a lead in Conwy…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Sure, thank you. I just wondered, I think it's your first time in front of the committee, as you mentioned earlier, so I just wondered, philosophically, if we could understand where you come from a little bit, whether you believe education is a Government's…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Diolch. Just before I jump into that, Chair, just on the PDG in particular, Minister, you'll be aware that one of the areas I raised in the last Senedd term was around outdoor education and outdoor education activities. I think there's probably an opportunity…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Thanks.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Further to that, as a child brought up in Gwynedd, I wonder how you have those assurances that the immersion and the support is appropriate.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Thanks. Sorry, Chair, just to expand on that point, I guess it's just understanding that there's a clear difference between bilingual education and Welsh-medium or English-medium only education. The categorisation of category 2 and category 3 schools is quite…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
[Inaudible.]—a point made earlier about the strategy in Gwynedd Council around Welsh-medium education. My understanding is that, in primary school in particular, it's not bilingual education, that all primary schools in Gwynedd are in category 2, which is…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
May I just ask on this particular point again? I think part of the reason also is the ability to recruit teachers in RE. You'll be aware, of course, that places like Cardiff University have rolled back on some of their RE or Theology teacher-training courses…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Perhaps if I may, Chair, just expand on a few points there. I think you're right around the importance of the subject in terms of the ever-polarising world we have. I think there's an opportunity in schools to support children to understand other sides of…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Absolutely. I noted the shift in number of pupils picking up religion, values and ethics as a GCSE in the last few years. In 2020, around 15,000 pupils were taking religious education or RVE as a GCSE. That has nearly halved now—it's around 8,000 pupils at…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Thanks, Chair. Good morning, Cabinet Minister. Thanks for being with us today. I'm sure it's an absolute pleasure.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions, and declarations of interest
Chair, just a declaration that I'm a local authority governor at a school, as my record shows.
, Plenary
Debate: Fiscal Reform
Diolch, Lywydd. I'm grateful to be able to take part in this debate this evening. And I must say, Llywydd, it has been far more interesting than I expected when I saw the title of the debate in the first place. I will first of all remind the Labour…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution
Thank you for your response, Cabinet Minister. You'll know, in July, that your colleague the Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport announced that the Welsh Government will be setting up a new shadow broadcasting and communications authority as a first step…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution
Diolch, Lywydd. As the Cabinet Minister for effectiveness, what actions are you taking to guarantee that your Cabinet colleagues are effectively ensuring value for money in the departments across the Welsh Government?
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
First Minister, the irony of you calling a Member of the Senedd an isolationist when you are desperate to break up the United Kingdom and isolate Wales from this United Kingdom, when you've signed a pact with the SNP and Sinn Féin to isolate Wales from the…
