Decision details

Debates are one of the most frequent items of business on the Plenary agenda. Many types of debate are brought forward in Plenary, including:

• Opposition party debates on a topic of their choice;

Other than in the case of Government debates, the time allocated for all other types of debates and their frequency are determined by the Business Committee

The item started at 16.30

Voting on the motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time.

A vote was taken on the motion without amendment:

NDM5298 Jocelyn Davies (South Wales East)

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes with concern that 48.9% of Wales’ pupils leave school without 5 GCSEs at A*-C including English/Welsh and mathematics.

2. Notes with concern that the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged and more advantaged backgrounds grows through the key stages, reaching 33% in key stage 4.

3. Believes policies to address surplus places should be re-evaluated to support high standards as a priority.

4. Recognises the importance of ensuring that pupils leave school with relevant qualifications and calls upon the Welsh Government to prioritise the establishment of Qualifications Wales as an independent organisation to regulate qualifications in the first instance.

5. Recognises the importance of closing the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and pupils from more advantaged backgrounds and calls upon the Welsh Government to ensure that the pupil deprivation grant is allocated towards policies that address this.

6. Calls on the Welsh Government to bring forward its comprehensive proposals to enact the recommendations in the Hill report.

7. Welcomes The Party of Wales’ agreement with the Welsh Government to create 5,650 additional apprenticeship opportunities, providing young people with valuable opportunities to develop their skills and obtain employment. 

The motion without amendment was agreed.