Our FE sector is, I think, one that we should be proud of. The Skills Show in Birmingham, managed by WorldSkills UK, took place last week, and I'm pleased to announce that indicative figures show that team Wales have brought home a total of 51 medals, including 14 gold, 20 silver, 12 bronze and six highly commended. This is an increase on the previous year. I'm also delighted to say that we have four Welsh colleges in the top 10 in the provider league: Coleg Cambria, Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, Coleg Gwent and Gower College Swansea. I think that that quality mark is something that we're really looking for in terms of our colleges, really making sure that we are improving our standards year on year. Colleges never cease to be innovative in terms of curriculum design, and we need them always to be looking for new and better ways to deliver provision. It's clear that staff in further education institutions have been under a considerable amount of pressure over the last few years, and I'd like to thank them for their continued support and their passion and dedication to the learners in their care.

We, of course, have been closely monitoring the FE pay negotiations that are currently under way, and whilst these negotiations remain the responsibility of Welsh FE colleges, directly with the unions, through the umbrella body of ColegauCymru, I'm pleased to announce that I and the Cabinet Secretary for Education wrote to the chair of ColegauCymru to announce that we would be supporting a pay increase, not only for the teaching staff, as I mentioned yesterday, but also for the support staff. So, we'll be providing £3.2 million in 2018-19 and £4.8 million in 2019-20, subject, of course, to the passage and approval of the Welsh Government's final budget 2019-20. 

The Welsh Government has been able to provide additional help and support for pay in 2018-19 and 2019-20, recognising that these are exceptional circumstances, following the UK Government's decision to ignore its own 1 per cent pay cap for public sector workers and to make up to a 3.5 per cent pay award for teaching staff. We're pleased that that now has been corrected by the Welsh Government.

I want to give my thanks to the entire FE sector for their resilience and flexibility, through what's been an extraordinarily difficult time. The sector plays a vital role in delivering the skills and training that our learners need to address the demands of our economy. Our message is clear: we are committed to providing the very best education system we can for learners of all ages. But as a Government, we'll be voting against this resolution because it fails to note that the funding cuts have been caused by Tory austerity. Secondly, we don't accept that extra pressure has been put on FE colleges as a result of the employability plan. We're suggesting that they reprioritise the provision they're offering to respond to labour market demands. Thirdly, we're pleased that we've been able to support FE staff, both lecturers and support staff, in terms of their pay claims, and we hope that this will help to avoid industrial action.

Finally, whilst we agree we would not want to see any further reduction in the amount of funding received by FE due to its key role in shaping the skills of tomorrow, we can't give this commitment whilst we have a Tory Government that is determined to follow through on its austerity agenda. Diolch.