6. Debate on the Children, Young People and Education Committee Report: School Funding in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:28 pm on 23 October 2019.

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Photo of Lynne Neagle Lynne Neagle Labour 5:28, 23 October 2019

Thank you, Siân. I was going to come on to say that you made the point in your speech that you didn't think the review should be a reason to wait to put more resource into education, and I absolutely agree with that, and I'm sure that the Minister also agrees with that. There is no reason to wait. The purpose of the review, which was also highlighted by Dawn Bowden, is that the committee was looking to place education on a similar footing to health, where we had the Nuffield review, which had a detailed look at the need to spend in health and has been used as the basis for budget setting. So, that would be very valuable, but I certainly don't think there is any need to wait, and we need to see that additional investment now, because we know the pressures that are in the system now. 

Can I thank Dawn Bowden for her contribution and for the role that she played in the committee helping to unpick the complexity? It is indeed incredibly complex. There is in fact a whole chapter in the report on how school funding works. I recommend it, it's a page turner. But, it is indicative of just how difficult it is to track the money. We did have a lot of discussion in the committee about austerity as well, and we've tried to come up with a report that recognises the challenges that face the Welsh Government in what comes to the Welsh Government from Westminster, but tries to target where we need to improve.