Extract from proceedings in the Senedd Petitions
Committee
'Review the inadequate funding for Schools in Wales'. The
submitter is , with 7,006 signatures, 6,901
Wales only, from the constituency of Vale of Glamorgan, South
Wales Central.
2024-06-24 14:20:01
Obviously, this petition has been familiar to the committee for
some while, right back from September 2023 when the petition
closed for signatures at that point, and there's been quite a lot
of correspondence and things around this. But you'll know that,
only very recently—not too many days ago, actually—correspondence
was received by NAHT Cymru, SCL Cymru and NEU Cymru that has
brought this petition back to the table. Some of you may recall
that the committee took evidence from the petitioner and a range
of other people, school governors, et cetera, ahead of the
2024-25 budget round. This letter, which we have in our packs
here from the unions, again puts forward the concerns:
'As the organisations behind the School Cuts website, we are
collectively calling for all political parties to commit to a
plan to invest the funding needed in education to eradicate all
school cuts. To restore funding back to 2010/11 levels in real
terms would require investment of around £154 million.'
They go on to emphasise some of the additional issues that
schools are facing. I think it would be sensible for this letter
to be forwarded through to the Finance Committee, so that we can
consider it, perhaps when we look at, or that committee looks at,
the next budget round, but also encourage the unions, this
organisation, to make representation to the Finance Committee
ahead of the next budget round, which will be starting this
autumn, as we know. I think if there is a conversation to be had
with a further committee, it makes sense for it to be now within
the finance realm, as it's lobbying or trying to help the Finance
Committee understand the pressures in schools. I don't think
there's anything more we can do as a Petitions Committee, and so
I would suggest that we close the petition, but as I said, move
this letter to the Finance Committee and encourage the
organisation to make representations to that committee.
2024-06-24 14:22:51
Thank you. We'll share that petition, , with the Finance Committee, and
also encourage interaction with that committee and the
consultation on the 2025-26 budget in the autumn, and seek to
close the petition. Do all Members agree with that action? Yes.
Thank you.
