9. Will the First Minister provide details of the allocation of funding for education in Wales? OAQ51959

Education reform is a key priority for us. It reflects our efforts to get to the very highest levels of expectation for learners and teachers. And we've aligned and prioritised our budgets to our national action plan for education.

Earlier this month, your Cabinet Secretary for Education announced a £14 million injection of cash to help fund school repairs. This is a very welcome sum of money, and her statement very clearly said that every school will receive some funding. Now, throughout Wales, we have a number of new builds, either built this year or literally in the last sort of 18 months to two years. In my own constituency, I have a case of two schools, one beside the other. One is brand new and cost millions of pounds. The other one is a very old school, decades old, where they've literally had to beg and borrow in order to be able to turn it into a Welsh-medium school and to kit it out. I've been there; the roof is leaking, the tiles are falling off, et cetera. Do you think it is appropriate that every school should have some of this allocation? Would it not be more sensible—or would you consider looking at the schools that really need help to give us a good, modern-day learning environment, or as best as we can get in some of those very old school buildings we have, rather than also giving some of this money to very new builds?

Well, it is a matter for local authorities to prioritise which schools they wish to bid for funding in terms of the twenty-first century schools programme. We don't direct which schools should receive the money.

I was pleased last week to be in Ysgol Glan Clwyd in Saint Asaph, where a new extension was being built. But it is for local authorities—[Interruption.] It is for local authorities. Let's remind ourselves that, under the Member's party in England, there are no new schools being built at all. There would be no funding available and, no doubt, if they were in power in Wales, then there would be no new schools being built in Wales either.

Yes, it is difficult, of course, where a new school is built, and other schools will say, 'Well, what about us?' But that is a question that should be directed to the local authority. It is for the local authority to determine and prioritise which schools and which works they want to bid for.

Thank you, First Minister.