Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:13 pm on 7 March 2023.
Thank you. First Minister, the last Programme for International Student Assessment results in 2018 showed Wales at the bottom of UK rankings for the fifth occasion running. We'll see what happens when the 2022 results come out later this year, but since then, we've only seen significant disruption to children's education in Wales over the last three years because of both the COVID-19 pandemic and now teacher strikes as well.
On top of this disruption, Labour-run Bridgend County Borough Council is proposing to cut school funding by 2 per cent in 2023-24. By comparison, neighbouring Neath Port Talbot council is proposing to increase like-for-like school funding by 8 per cent. Now, those two councils are important, because they have a similar population, similar levels of reserves, and similar council tax increases proposed for the next year. The only difference is the one that's cutting it is run by the Labour Party. First Minister, we know that Bridgend County Borough Council's decision will have a detrimental impact on education in Bridgend for years to come, so what's your Government doing to ensure that pupils across Wales receive a quality education, wherever they live, even if they live in areas with short-sighted councils?