, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Thanks, Buffy, for that question. I'll be really honest with the committee, this has been something I've really grappled with through the process of this Bill being shaped and being formed, because, as Buffy rightly pointed out, many of those children in…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
I think you're absolutely right to point to the anxiety some people may feel having these experiences. I think there are a few things to consider within this in terms of anxiety. In the explanatory memorandum, I point to a piece of work that was about the…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Thanks, Laura, for that point. Again, I couldn't disagree with that at all. Perhaps this is a question you may be asking later on as well, but it is an important point around the security of the provision in the long run as well. So, if this Bill was in…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Okay. I didn't mean it to sound flippant, so apologies if that's the way it came across. You're right, there are real challenges for many families. This Bill certainly looks to remove one of those biggest challenges, which is the opportunity to even go in the…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Sorry.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
But I think the equipment that you'd expect to have to need for the residential outdoor visits would already be available at the centre—that equipment that's required for the experiences that they have to undertake. A child would usually require a coat for…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Yes, so, again, I've had a great opportunity over the last 18 months to meet with and visit lots of outdoor education centres, and one of the things I noticed and hadn't appreciated most of all was actually the equipment that they have on site and the…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
So, fundamentally, we have to understand why some children don't currently access this, and the research that I've undertaken clearly shows that the No. 1 barrier is financial constraints, because of the cost to many families. And Members around the table, or…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Yes, again, the intention of the Bill clearly sets out that this is about access and opportunity of access for all. We need to be careful, I guess, in making sure that we differentiate between ALN and then special schools and the provision that they provide…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Thanks. Do you want me to respond to that point?
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
I couldn't agree more with that broader point, because the benefits aren't just about the educational attainment that a child will receive as a result of this—it's probably, more importantly, more than that actually. The mental health side in…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Yes. And that's the point I guess—it comes back to the fundamental reason why I think the Bill should exist, which is equity of access for all, which I think is something that the Welsh Government would be keen to support as well.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Yes, thanks, Ken. Data was a really interesting point when I first started work on this. I don't mean to take Members back on too far a journey, but my name got pulled out of a hat for this in July 2022. I know a Member in this committee is going through a…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Thank you for the question, Ken, and I'm glad you've been able to get to a fantastic outdoor education centre. On that point, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge some of the great centres that do currently provide, yes, a great service to our schools…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
I'd suggest that perhaps they read the Bill. The Bill is actually very flexible in terms of what it looks to do and how it looks to provide it. I've clearly set out on the face of the Bill that the guidance to be issued by the Minister must provide that…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
My understanding is that, because the way I've framed the Bill is to put it within the curriculum, primary legislation is needed to make the changes to the curriculum, and that's why I've chosen the route that I've chosen. I'm not sure if Jen wants to expand…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
Yes, I think the time's never been better, actually. This is the perfect time to bring in something like residential outdoor education as an entitlement, because we are still fairly early days when it comes to the Curriculum for Wales, so I think it would be…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Residential Outdoor Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 1
First of all, thank you very much for having me and my team with me here today. I really appreciate the opportunity to share this with you. I was really pleased to be able to present the Bill to the Senedd last week. It's a little bit strange being on the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thanks for that response, Minister. It does seem unusual, though, that neighbouring councils have such different levels of funding, based on what seems to be indicated as driving that the most, which is the age of population. [Interruption.] Thank you for…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Okay. I'm glad to hear that you're confident of that, but I'm sure you're aware of a letter recently sent to you by the leader of Conwy County Borough Council, which outlined his serious concerns for setting a balanced budget next year, echoing a similar…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government
Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, could you outline your assessment around the ability of local authorities in Wales to set balanced budgets for the next financial year?
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 9
Thanks. Thank you, Chair.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 9
Thanks. I think that point is clear enough. I guess that I would argue that you probably would have further assurances if it was on the face of the Bill. Is that fair?
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 9
Thank you. I think that final point is really important. Whereas the numbers at risk may be very low, the impact is absolutely huge, isn't it? And understanding that, I think, is really, really important. Just going back to the point you made earlier about…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 9
Yes, thank you, Chair, and good morning, Jessica, I appreciate your time with us here today. I just want to move on to the provision in the Bill on electoral registration without application. Of course the Bill provides for electors in Wales to be…
