3. Will the Minister make a statement on the level of financial reserves held by schools? OQ57873

The high level of reserves last year came as no surprise, due to many activities being paused and additional funding provided during the pandemic. We know that this is a temporary position, and we support local authorities in working with their schools to manage any surplus balances flexibly in the current circumstances.

Yes, they're quite concerning, really, when the latest data on the level of reserves held by schools shows an apparent sharp rise from £32 million, which is £70 per pupil, in March 2020, to £181 million, which is £393 per pupil in March 2021. These are reserves. That money is sitting there. Now, as we anticipate the arrival of Ukrainian children to Wales, and with these funds in these bank accounts within this area of schooling, is it likely that some of these reserves could be freed up to accommodate young Ukrainians coming to Wales, so that we can ensure, as Members here, their well-being, being in our care, and that our own schooling system is not put under any undue pressure?

Well, I think the Member will be very well aware of why schools are carrying reserves. We've had significant challenges over the last two years—[Interruption.]—and it has been our judgment as a Government that we should continue funding schools in order to provide the flexibility that they need to respond to the pressures of COVID in the interests of their learners. So, the additional funding into the system will have affected those balances, and we expect to see that position continue when we have the next report, which I think will be in October this year.

I think schools have been prudent in their approach to this, and I think local authorities are able to make judgments as to what is appropriate in the individual circumstances of each school. And schools that have those surpluses will, and should be, obviously, subject to ongoing monitoring by their local authorities to ensure that approved plans to spend those balances are delivered within timescales agreed with the authority.

In relation to the point that the Member rightly makes about making sure that we are able to provide the education that children coming to Wales from Ukraine are able to get, there is a lot of work going on at the moment with our partners in local government to understand how best to do that. Obviously, which parts of Wales people end up coming to live in, and therefore the needs of children in those areas for local schooling, is something that is obviously outside our control, and not entirely clear at this point, but there is a very live set of discussions happening across the school system to make sure that we can support those children as they come to Wales.