Janet’s Contributions
Question to Minister for Education and Skills
The Quality of Children’s Education
14:46
Janet Finch-Saunders
4. Will the Minister make a statement outlining plans to improve the quality of children's education in Wales? OAQ(4)0484(ESK)

14:46
Huw Lewis
My plan to improve the quality of children’s education in Wales was set out in ‘Qualified for Life’, which was published on 2 October.

14:46
Janet Finch-Saunders
Last week, the Confederation of British Industry in Wales set out a variety of recommendations to improve the quality of children’s education in order to enhance their employment prospects. One such recommendation is that maths and English should remain compulsory subjects until the age of 18 for anyone still in education after their GCSEs. Can the Minister assure me that this is something that you are prepared to do?

14:46
Huw Lewis
Well, of course, we are always working hard to improve the educational standards of young people in Wales, and our ambition to provide young people with the skills they need to succeed in the workplace is at the heart of that work. Our improvements have followed close working with the business community over some years, and we have been pleased with the welcome that the CBI, among others, has given to many of our reforms. I have to say, directly to the Member, that on the issue of compulsory maths and English up to the age of 18, I do not know that that is really the most profitable route by which we can ensure that those essential skills for the workplace are delivered to every young person. The Welsh emphasis has been on the cross-curricular integration of literacy and numeracy in every subject area.

Question to Minister for Economy, Science and Transport

Janet Finch-Saunders
5. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad ar y gwaith sy'n mynd rhagddo i wella'r A55? OAQ(4)0471(EST)
5. Will the Minister make a statement on the roadworks currently being undertaken to improve the A55? OAQ(4)0471(EST)

15:22
Edwina Hart
We are introducing resilience improvements along the A55 and A494 to minimise delays and congestion during major traffic incidents, driver emergencies and breakdowns. All improvements are scheduled for completion by February 2015.
15:22
Janet Finch-Saunders
Thank you for that answer, Minister. We really welcome the improvements, and it is fair to say that the A55 was certainly the best thing that ever happened in north Wales, and certainly around Conwy, as it was such an arterial vein, bringing much needed investment in.

However, the problem now is—there has been talk of the repairs and everything—the number of accidents that are taking place on the A55, because, quite often, we see road closures that then bring gridlock to transport coming into Llandudno, Deganwy, Llandudno Junction and Conwy. Will you ensure that there is some dialogue between the trunk road agency, the local authority and the elected Members here, because we are all trying to get to the same place, so to speak, but it is an issue that really does need some collaborative working?

Response to Statement by the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty: Town Centre Regeneration

Janet Finch-Saunders
May I say that I do welcome the statement? Anything where we are all working together to regenerate our high streets has to be a good way forward. The Vibrant and Viable Places framework is a lot of money—£110 million, and I would just like to ask the Minister: there are good initiatives coming from here, but, cascading down to local authorities, how are you ensuring that there is an awareness out there in the community? I know that, in my own community, not many know about Vibrant and Viable Places—it does not mean a lot to them—and how it will actually impact on them.

I also have raised previously the extension of the small business rates scheme. Certainly, the one thing that crops up a lot is business rates. It is the one thing that businesses are really panicking about, I would say. They feel that, at the moment, they are not sure whether they can actually set up a business, because we keep having temporary extensions. We want some commitment from the Welsh Government so that businesses can plan and new businesses can actually start.
Finally, the £1,000 that the Minister has allocated for businesses that they can draw down is an absolutely great initiative, but I have had to make businesses in my constituency aware of this. So, again, I would ask the question: how are you going to build up the awareness of this? It is no good having the funding there if the businesses do not know that they can actually draw it down.

16:27
Lesley Griffiths
Thank you for those questions. In relation to Vibrant and Viable Places, obviously Conwy County Borough Council was one of the beneficiaries. It is a three-year programme, which started only in April this year. I mentioned earlier that I have met with lead officials, who are working with each of the VVP areas. I think it is really important that we continuously monitor, and, certainly, there will be monitoring and evaluation done at the end of the first year. Certainly locally, in Wrexham, people know about VVP and they know what we are trying to do for the town centre. The council has consulted widely with its residents. So, perhaps I could suggest that you get your own local authority to do so also.

You raised two points that are under the remit of the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport. I am sure that you will welcome that she recently announced the extension of the small business rate relief scheme. This, as I mentioned, supports many businesses—many will actually pay no business rates at all. On the £1,000 discount for retail and food and drink premises with a rateable value under £50,000, again, the Minister heard you, but I think that the Minister thinks that that information is out there and businesses do know about it.