Funding Priorities in the Education Portfolio

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 2:12 pm on 6 February 2019.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 2:12, 6 February 2019

Thank you, Nick. I'm glad to hear about the progress of the school that you referred to. It's not an unexpected spin-off—it's a cunning plan. Indeed, in allocating contracts to companies to build our twenty-first century schools programme, there is an expectation, indeed a requirement, that they do engage with the schoolchildren of that school in the process of building that school, and that they also look to expand apprenticeship opportunities for older young people when undertaking that work. So, it's not a happy coincidence—it's planned for.

We are now coming to the end of our first phase of our twenty-first century schools programme band A, and we are already beginning to assess bids from local education authorities around their requirements for band B of the twenty-first century schools programme. And you will be aware that we have made this even more affordable for local authorities by upping the intervention rate. That is, Welsh Government will commit more capital to the band B programme, allowing local authorities to save on revenue costs associated with borrowing and to ensure that local authorities are able to be as ambitious as possible with their plans. It is they that put forward the schools, and I'm sure you'll be discussing with your colleagues in Monmouthshire whether King Henry will be one of those schools coming forward, and I look forward to receiving the recommendations from the independent capital investment board as regards what we will be able to do in Monmouthshire.

Of course, that's not the only programme that Monmouthshire County Council is benefiting from. The Welsh-medium programme is also something that Monmouthshire County Council has been very successful in bidding for and, of course, the Welsh Government covers 100 per cent of the cost of those new builds.