2. Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on the Pupil Development Grant - Access scheme? 209

Thank you, Lynne. This support is available for parents to apply for via their local authority. I'm very pleased that we've been able to introduce a new, more generous, and more flexible scheme ready for the start of the new school year. 

Thank you. I was pleased and relieved that the Cabinet Secretary has confirmed the replacement for the school uniform grant, and that this is an enhanced scheme that will provide help to more families. I was also delighted that Torfaen council, in recognition of the need to get the money out to families quickly, in readiness for the new school term in September, is not going through an application process, but are proactively identifying those families who need the help and automatically directing the funds to them. As you know, the cost of school uniform is a major stress for families, and I am concerned that other local authorities may not be as proactive as Torfaen has been. What steps will you take as Cabinet Secretary to ensure that all local authorities understand that this money needs to be available for families in good time before the start of the new term in September?

Thank you. We have been working very closely with local authorities, principally through the Association of Directors of Education in Wales, to make them aware of their indicative allocations—they're only indicative because, of course, this is a demand-led grant—and to confirm with them the formal terms and conditions of that grant. We are also working with them to ensure that bureaucracy around applications in the scheme is kept to a minimum, and we will continue throughout the summer to use Welsh Government channels, as well as media outlets, to alert parents to the availability of this support. 

Thank you for your answer to Lynne Neagle. I think it is important that this is widely promoted across the country, and that we don't just leave it down to local authorities, particularly over a summer period when many families may be less able to communicate directly with schools about the availability of support. Can I ask you, Cabinet Secretary—? We have another budget round coming up. One of the problems with the budget round last time was that you didn't cough up about the fact that you were actually chopping the previous grant, and there was no transparency around that, nor was there a children's rights impact assessment undertaken on the changes in your budget that resulted in the previous grant being axed. Now, of course, we're pleased that you've rowed back, that you've done a u-turn on this, and that there's actually now something that is more generous available, and that can be used for other purposes than just the school uniform grant. But can you tell us—and give us some assurances—how your budget processes are stacking up for the budget that will be presented in the autumn, and can you confirm that there will be a children's rights impact assessment on every single budget line where it affects children and young people?

Darren, I can confirm that we will be using, as I said, a variety of media channels over the summer to alert parents to the availability of this grant. Indeed, the most successful Facebook post on the Welsh education Facebook page in the last month has been the post that alerted people to the existence of this grant. That was shared more than any other post, and we will continue, as I said, to publicise the existence of the grant. You're right to say that it is more generous. It is available to those parents of children in receipt of free school meals entering into year 7, at a maximum of up to £125. Last year, it was £120. But, uniquely, it is now also available for those parents who've got children starting school. It is also available for a wider range of items that might be associated with taking up not only opportunities within school but also sporting opportunities, extra-curricular opportunities or perhaps equipment that children need to access for, for instance, a school trip, such as outdoor equipment that perhaps is quite expensive. I can confirm that as we work with my Cabinet colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Finance to finalise the Welsh Government's budgets, we will be looking to take every opportunity to enhance how budgets are portrayed to individual committees, and reviewing exactly how we carry out impact assessments on individual budget lines. 

The local authorities that I've spoken to are worried that this is all very last minute, and clearly that underlines the fact that it was a bit of a rearguard action to the scrapping of the school uniforms grant. So, I too welcome this u-turn from the Government. Local authorities have told me that you published your written statement outlining the proposals for the new scheme, but there was a delay then, in terms of receiving their offer letter and being clear about the terms of reference. As a result, of course, there's been a further delay in the system for them to implement their systems locally in order to promote and put systems in place for this scheme to work. I have to ask whether you regret the way that this situation has been arrived at. Why weren't local authorities given sufficient warning and sufficient time to get ready for this? Why wasn't it, for example, properly consulted upon before the announcement was made? Why was the scheme not ready to go, instead of being clearly what it is now, a last-minute rush job? 

Let's be absolutely clear: local authorities, via ADEW, were consulted throughout the month of May. I made my statement in this Chamber on 7 June. Individual directors of education were provided with an update on 8 June. By 29 June, all local authorities had received their indicative allocations and the criteria for the grant, and that was formally confirmed on 9 July. 

Thank you very much, Cabinet Secretary.