Kirsty Williams AM’s Christmas Message

By The Voice | Tue 24th December 2013 - 3:45 pm

From mybrecon.co.uk

FOR me part of the Christmas period is about reflecting on the year that has been and looking forward to the year coming up.

2013 has been an interesting year here in Wales. There have been ups, with strong signs of the UK’s economy improving and unemployment falling in the constituency. There have also been downs, with Wales falling further behind England and Scotland in both education and health standards.

Next year is set to be even busier for me. I recently won a ballot to bring forward a piece of legislation of my choosing. I have chosen to introduce Minimum Nursing Levels in Welsh Hospitals. International evidence from the USA and Australia shows that where this sort of legislation is in place, patient outcomes are vastly improved. There is a long way to go, but this change in the law could have a real impact on the lives of Welsh patients.

I believe Christmas is mainly about family. Families taking time to come together and enjoy each other’s company. I am always incredibly proud of people in Brecon and Radnorshire’s sense of community and we must remember those who are not lucky enough to have family at this time of year. If you know someone who might be lonely this Christmas then please spend some time with them. It will cost you little and could mean the world to them.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and wish you all the very best for 2014.

7 Comments

Alistair 25th Dec '13 - 2:37pm

If you want to improve education in Wales, drop the restrictions on non welsh speakers.
jedibeeftrix 25th Dec '13 - 3:38pm

I can improve that statement, Alistair, fine as it is:

If you want to improve Wales, drop the restrictions on non welsh speakers.
crewegwyn 26th Dec '13 - 5:29pm

er, is it not useful to have teachers who can teach pupils in their (the pupils’) first language?

[puts on tin hat]
jedibeeftrix 26th Dec '13 - 7:46pm

lol, first language.

I think polish is more commonly spoken than welsh in Wales, and I live in mid Wales.
AndrewR 27th Dec '13 - 12:02am

In fact there are more Welsh speakers in Wales than Polish speakers in the whole of England and Wales put together.
Kevin Maher 27th Dec '13 - 9:16am

19% of the population can speak Welsh according to the 2011 census.
.
jedibeeftrix 27th Dec '13 - 10:07am

sorry, i misremembered the headline. polish is the second language in england, and within a haire of becoming the second language in the UK overall:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jan/30/polish-becomes-englands-second-language

“The first ONS language figures, recorded from a survey of 56.1 million residents of England and Wales, show 546,000 speak Polish. There are still slightly more Welsh speakers in Wales at 562,000.”

I remain deeply sceptical of the value of the positive discrimination towards welsh language in central and local government.