I'd like to thank everyone involved in tabling this important debate today. Our further education colleges are an essential link in the education chain and it is vital that we ensure that they're properly funded and adequately resourced. I've had the pleasure to work closely with Gower college in my region, which is a large further education college with over 4,500 full-time and 10,000 part-time learners from across the region. The atmosphere in Gower college is second to none, and pupils are encouraged to be the very best they can be. Some pupils have autism, and the lecturers work extremely hard to give pupils the necessary support they need according to their needs. They have achieved amazing things. 

The college boasts the largest A-level cohort in Wales, with over 1,500 students studying a range of almost 50 different A-level subjects. Gower college, like all further education colleges, play a vital role in educating our young people and providing lifelong learning opportunities for people of all ages. It is, therefore, concerning that funding cuts are threatening this essential role.

Our FE colleges are facing increasing demand from Government, and yet have continued to have their budgets slashed. The FE sector provides a service just as valuable as that provided by our schools, yet unlike schools, their budgets aren’t protected, and it’s the staff who have had to bear the brunt of those cuts. College lecturers are left struggling after years of poor pay increases. FE lecturers play as valuable a role as teachers yet are not being treated the same. Many lecturers have reported being unable to pay their rent or forced to take on second jobs just to make ends meet. Staff at one college regularly reported skipping meals because they couldn’t afford it.

It is little wonder that FE staff have voted to go on strike. This puts the colleges in an impossible situation. Their funding has been cut drastically in recent years: an overall cut of 6 per cent in 2015-16, which also saw part-time funding cut in half. In the past seven years, FE sector funding has increased by virtually nothing, yet their costs, which include pay awards, have increased by over 12.5 per cent. Colleges' contributions to pensions is set to rise by around 40 per cent next year. It is, therefore, essential that the Welsh Government, at the very least, agrees to ColegauCymru’s demand for an immediate increase of 3.5 per cent for the FE sector.

I welcome the Minister’s statement yesterday, which announced that funding will be made available to fund a pay award commensurate with teachers. However, as always, we wait for the detail. I look forward to seeing college lecturers and staff receiving a 3.5 per cent pay rise, but given the Minister's comments about improved methodology for FE funding, I wait to see the detail as the Minister didn't indicate increased funding.

Colleges such as Gower college are invaluable and we cannot afford to lose them. It’s time to reverse the cuts and ensure that colleges and those who staff them are properly funded and fairly treated. I urge Members to support this motion today. Thank you.