Rosemary Butler has been pressing First Minister Rhodri Morgan for assurances that girls and disabled young people will get the  opportunity to learn how to set up their own businesses. But she has also welcomed the fact that far more youngsters at schools and colleges have been involved in a special scheme financed by the Assembly than she and many other AMs realised.

During questions to the First Minister, the AM for Newport West said that in the past  girls hadn't show as much interest as boys  in learning how to set up their own businesses through the Dynamo project - the scheme set up to encourage young entrepreneurs.

She wanted to know whether the  Assembly Government was reversing that trend

She also wanted to know what was being done to encourage young people with physical disabilities to take part in the scheme.

The First Minister said that the Dynamo project complied with the Disability Discrimination Act, but he also agreed that girls initially had been less likely to think about setting up their own businesses .

He added,however, that once they were involved in the project they achieved the same level as the boys. He also said that more than 200,000 young people in Wales had benefited from the Dynamo project.

Mrs Butler welcomed the news that so many youngsters had taken part."The development of entrepreneurship is crucial to the future development and prosperity of Wales", she said later. "In Newport alone 9,305 young people have been involved."

Saturday, January 27