Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:55 pm on 12 February 2019.
First Minister, the facts are absolutely clear. As you know, for every £1 spent in England, your Government can spend £1.20, and you cannot deny those facts, given it was you—it was you—who agreed this fiscal framework with the UK Government in the first place. So, is there any wonder there is a crisis in our schools when they have received consistent cuts to their budgets by your Government?
Now, let’s look at the figures, shall we, First Minister? We know that, between 2010-11 and 2018-19, gross budgeted expenditure on schools has received a real-terms cut of 7.9 per cent. Now, this inability to support our education sector has seen a significant number of teachers leave the profession. Having seen a drop of just 29 pupils since 2010, figures by the NASUWT, again, reveal that there are over 1,400 fewer teachers working in Wales during that period. What will it take—[Interruption.] What will it take, First Minister, for your Government to realise that our schools are facing a crisis and that this failure to make education a priority will have serious consequences for our future generations? And will you now start listening to our teachers and to our educational professionals to start giving our schools and our children the support that they deserve?