Diolch, Llywydd. I move the amendment in the name of Paul Davies. I also complement Plaid on their motion, with which we agree. I’ll ask them to understand that our only reason for voting otherwise will be to ensure a vote on our own amendment.

The school funding crisis in Wales is severe. NASUWT Wales calculates that there is now a £678 funding gap per pupil between England and Wales. We believe it’s important to note that that is despite the new fiscal framework agreed with Westminster currently delivering £1.20 of Government spending in Wales for every £1 spent in England. Given this apparent disparity, we have to ask what it implies about where education is on the priority list for the Welsh Labour Government. We will be opposing the Government amendment, but it’s important to note that much of the extra funding to which they refer in that amendment was only grudgingly agreed with our sole Liberal Democrat AM to ensure Labour’s continuing hold on power.

I know Labour now run away from anything Tony Blair ever said or did, but I think many of us around this Chamber would appreciate it if they made an exception for 'Education, education, education'. Perhaps if the Cabinet Secretary agrees, she should open discussion with others in this Chamber about how we can make education a higher priority than a new Labour leader would allow.

In practice, what has less funding per pupil meant? Most obviously, it affects standards, and we’ve debated it many times in this Chamber. We’ve fallen further behind England in all three Programme for International Student Assessment scores, and our GCSE A* to C pass rate is the lowest in more than 10 years. We’re also seeing a reduction in choice for pupils. We’ve seen school closures, especially in rural areas, reduce the choice of where children can be educated and increase the distance that they have to travel. Over 10 years, there were 157 maintained school closures, according to a written answer to Darren Millar, and 60 per cent of those were in rural areas.