Mark Drakeford: ...Significant elements in the UK Government’s Act relate specifically to public services that in Wales are unambiguously devolved responsibilities. The Act refers explicitly to health services, the education of those aged under 17 and fire services—all of which are plainly devolved. It is untenable, we believe, for UK Ministers to argue that their legislation must be regarded as...
Mark Drakeford: ...was to suggest that the information that we feed into the current formula is not up to date. It’s updated every single year to reflect population shifts, to reflect the number of children in our schools, and this year, for next year’s settlement, to implement some very important changes in relation to sparsity. The two local authorities who do best of all out of the changes for next...
Mark Drakeford: ...since 2013-14. The settlement reflects our agreement with Plaid Cymru to allocate £25 million in addition to local government to help it provide vital services, as well as £1 million for school transport and £3 million for a pilot scheme with regard to parking arrangements in town centres. Bearing in mind the pressure from all directions on the Welsh budget, I believe that this is a...
Mark Drakeford: Budget discussions were held with a range of stakeholders and Cabinet colleagues on financial issues, including priorities within the education main expenditure group, which informed the spending plans approved yesterday.
Mark Drakeford: The additional £0.5 million investment will help provide quality meals and services during the school summer holidays, supporting those in some of Wales’s most deprived communities.
Mark Drakeford: Supporting a strong economy, closing the education attainment gap and improving skill levels are our key priorities and represent the most effective levers at our disposal to improve living standards in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: It is important that nurse education continues to develop to ensure the training provided to individuals equips them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deal with the challenges we face in Wales. We continue to work with key stakeholders to ensure appropriate development.
Mark Drakeford: Based on the latest available information, all schools in Islwyn meet the current bandwidth targets of 10 Mbps to primary schools and 100 Mbps to secondary schools, set under the Learning in Digital Wales grant programme.
Mark Drakeford: ...is one of the most powerful ways in which we can continue to sustain our economy and our economic prosperity into the future. Figures published last week by the Treasury showed that expenditure on education in Wales continues to be 4 per cent higher than in England. The draft budget that I published has, by itself, more than £90 million extra to the baseline to be able to make the pupil...
Mark Drakeford: As set out in the draft budget published last month, the budget allocation for the education main expenditure group next year is £1.99 billion.
Mark Drakeford: ...I thank Mohammad Asghar for the question. He’s right to point to the creation of that board, and I was encouraged to see that the board contained not simply the local authorities themselves, but education representatives, employer representatives and third sector representatives as well. The £1.3 billion deal that we are providing for the Cardiff capital region is a combination of local...
Mark Drakeford: ...constituencies in north Wales, and we continue to invest in regional projects including £163 million at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, over £200 million in north Wales road improvements, and £22 million for education facilities in Connah’s Quay and Holywell.
Mark Drakeford: The current curriculum requires financial education for all learners. Estyn is reviewing provision in schools and will publish recommendations in the spring on how financial education can improve. In Financial Capability Week, I should highlight our partnership with the Money Advice Service, which supports money management teaching in schools.
Mark Drakeford: Job creation, closing the education attainment gap and improving skill levels are our key priorities and represent the most effective levers at our disposal to tackle poverty in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: ...he was here in the Assembly last week. I told him that I wanted to move to a system where electoral registration becomes much more of an automatic process, and that that could apply particularly to school students, so that we could make sure that 16 and 17-year-olds were on the register to vote. I want to look at ways in which people’s voting can be made easier: electronic voting,...
Mark Drakeford: ...for Families First and Flying Start and trying to make sure that we have more of an impact in those communities that she so regularly represents on the floor of the National Assembly. As far as education programmes are concerned, there were two programmes, time-limited in nature, for which no funding provision would normally have been made next year. In the circumstances we find ourselves,...
Mark Drakeford: Of course I agree that the formula should rely on the most up-to-date data possible. That’s why I was pleased to agree the recommendations in relation to population numbers and school pupil numbers. I think every effort is made, both by local authority partners and those who advise them, to make sure that the formula does depend on the most reliable data available. During my visits around...
Mark Drakeford: ...the city is part of a wider pattern in which they’ve used money, made available through the Welsh Government in part, for street lighting energy efficiency, council building energy efficiency and school lighting programmes—in Rhydypenau Primary School in her own constituency, for example. It is a very good example of the way in which local authorities are using the assistance available...
Mark Drakeford: Certainly, I agree with Vikki Howells in her commendation of RCT council, and indeed councils across Wales for the way in which they have embraced the twenty-first century schools programme. Over 150 schools and colleges across Wales are seeing rebuilding and refurbishment of their premises. But the point that my colleague made in her supplementary towards the end is perhaps the more...
Mark Drakeford: ...an impact on our delivery partners. I was keen to provide an 18-month period of stability for those key services, and they need to use that time to prepare for the choices that lie ahead. As far as education is concerned, I’m very happy to provide a copy of my leaflet on progressive universalism—[Laughter.]—which I’m sure the Member would enjoy. It is very important that we...
