Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:54 pm on 12 February 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:54, 12 February 2019

Llywydd, the last time that Paul Davies's party was prepared to say to the public in Wales where they would take money from in order to fund the many things that, week after week, they tell us need to be done, it was the education budget that they chose as the main sacrifice for the rest of their plans. So, I don't think that we will be taking too seriously the crocodile tears of the Member on this matter this afternoon. In fact, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has made it clear that the gap between funding in Wales and in England has narrowed to a point where it scarcely exists. And here in Wales, we have—[Interruption.] Here in Wales, we have a deliberate policy of passporting on to education in Wales all the money that came to us from his Government for teachers’ pay. We look forward to making sure that we have money from his Government to cover the increase in teachers’ pensions that they have introduced, and we will continue to do that, just as we ensure that the money that goes to local authorities and to improvement consortiums is then passed on, in turn, to schools.