Written Questions tabled on 08/12/2023 for answer on 15/12/2023
Written Questions must be tabled at least five working days before they are to be answered. In practice, Ministers aim to answer within seven/eight days but are not bound to do so. Answers are published in the language in which they are provided, with a translation into English of responses provided in Welsh.
Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Does the Counsel General expect the Welsh Government's proposals for electoral reform and Senedd expansion to increase turnout at Senedd elections?
The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill seeks to ensure that no Member will be returned through a disproportionate first-past-the-post system, facilitating a Senedd that more accurately represents the choice of voters expressed at an election.
By providing a single route to election, as opposed to the current mixed-member approach, we are creating a simplified, consistent system that is familiar and easily understandable to voters.
Minister for Finance and Local Government
What discussions has the Minister had with individual Welsh local authority leaders since September on the issue of the local government funding formula, and what was the nature of those discussions?
I discuss the local government settlement formula with leaders through the Finance Sub Group (FSG) of the Partnership Council on a regular basis. The last meeting was on the 25 October. Minutes for the meetings up to 6 July can be found at Finance Sub-group | GOV.WALES. At the meeting on the 25 October, the work of the technical group advising the FSG, the Distribution Sub Group, was discussed. Areas highlighted included the data to be used in the 24-25 settlement following the expected publication of revised mid year estimates by ONS and the unfreezing of data sets previously frozen due to the impact of the pandemic period.
In addition to these standing arrangements, some Leaders have taken the opportunity to raise local perspectives on the formula in my visits and meetings with them over the past few months. This has included interest in sparsity and deprivation weightings as well as general trends in population movements.
Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Further to WQ89961, what time frame is the Minister anticipating for the construction of the new Millbrook Primary School building to commence and complete?
The anticipated timeframe for construction will be dependent on the preferred option for the delivery of the project, which will be confirmed as part of the business case process. The local authority has confirmed that this project will be progressed as a priority.
Will the Welsh Government set targets for scores in the next PISA rankings?
No other country in the UK has a specific target for PISA. However, our objective is to see continuous improvement in all three domains.
I made a statement on the Welsh Government’s response to the results on 5 December 2023.
What plans does the Minister have to improve Welsh PISA scores, and what lessons can be learnt from the better results in England?
No other country in the UK has a specific target for PISA. However, our objective is to see continuous improvement in all three domains.
I made a statement on the Welsh Government’s response to the results on 5 December 2023.