2. Will the additional funding provided to schools in England by the UK Government be matched by the Welsh Government for schools in Wales? OQ58767

We continue to face very difficult choices as we prepare our draft budget 2023-24. However, as we have stated, we will maintain our focus on front-line public services. As shown by recent analysis from HM Treasury, spending per person on education in Wales was 17 per cent higher than in England in 2021-22. We will provide further details in our 2023-24 draft budget.

Minister, last week, the UK Government's autumn statement announced an increase in funding for education, which would equate to roughly £200 million extra for education in Wales if we were to do the same, with Welsh Government, of course, receiving an extra £1.2 billion in additional funding, overall, over the two years. Minister, it's now imperative, with all the extra pressures on our schools, that this Welsh Government ensures that any additional funding for future budgets that's being provided for schools in England by the UK Government will be matched in Wales, to go to our schools, whose budgets desperately need it. Can the Welsh Government today give that reassurance and commitment to headteachers and schools up and down Wales?

So, I think I'll take the opportunity very early in this question session to say the additional funding that the Welsh Government has been given—£1.2 billion over the next two years—will not fill the big gaps in our budget. I will make that really clear. We face some very difficult choices as Ministers as we bring forward next year's budget. We will continue to prioritise our budgets to shield the most vulnerable and maintain our commitment to create a stronger, fairer and greener Wales. We're going to have to very carefully consider the detail from last week's autumn statement, and I know the Minister for Finance and Local Government is clearly doing that as we go towards the publication of the draft budget next month. Our overall settlement over the three-year spending review period—so, that goes from 2022 to 2025—is still worth less in real terms than it was at the time of the spending review last year. So, we've got the amount of funding that you mentioned, the Minister for Finance and Local Government will be having, no doubt, bilaterals with every Minister as we bring forward next year's budget. The amount of funding set aside for school budgets is obviously for local authorities to determine, and Welsh Government, obviously, doesn't fund schools directly, as you know. And, again, those discussions around funding for local government will obviously have an impact on the education budget too.

Trefnydd, last week I visited Capcoch Primary School in Abercwmboi to see the wonderful and truly heart-warming work that the school does to try and combat the effects of child poverty. The school's proactive interventions, including a clothes exchange, a foodbank and its approach to things like school trips, have been praised by Estyn. The Resolution Foundation estimates that relative child poverty is projected to reach its highest level now since the 1990s. So, how is the Welsh Government supporting schools to support children, young people, their families and carers who are suffering due to the cost-of-living crisis that is imposed by this UK Tory Government?

Thank you. Well, we recognise that increasing energy costs, the cost-of-living crisis, are obviously putting increased pressure on our schools, on our local authorities, and other public services, as well as on so many of our constituents. The Welsh Government is committed to using every lever it can to help people across Wales with the cost-of-living crisis. You'll be aware our pupil development grant is the most generous across the United Kingdom. Year on year, we've extended the PDG, with funding for this year now at over £130 million. In recognition of the pressures facing families, earlier this year, the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language announced an additional one-off payment of £100 to every child or young person eligible for PDG access. And, again, that takes funding for that scheme up to over £23 million for this financial year. The Minister intends to update our statutory school uniform guidance and launch a consultation on proposed changes—sorry, that consultation is currently out.