Mark Drakeford: Investment of almost £26 million has been approved to date for Islwyn through the twenty-first century schools and education programme. The funding is earmarked for a new 1,050-place comprehensive school for the area.
Mark Drakeford: ...a gafodd eu gwneud yng nghyfnod y weinyddiaeth flaenorol. Llywydd, these adjustments include revenue allocations announced earlier in the year of £10 million supplementary funding to the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, £2.3 million funding for flood management, £1.3 million of business rate relief support for businesses in the Port Talbot enterprise zone, and £7.7 million...
Mark Drakeford: ...that has influenced this supplementary budget, but we will be working hard over the summer to think about how that very important piece of work will be taken forward, and the Cabinet Secretary for Education will, of course, be leading that. Finally, just to end by agreeing with Mike Hedges that while this is, in many ways, a housekeeping piece of supplementary budget, its importance lies...
Mark Drakeford: ...sy’n gallu siarad Cymraeg am y dyfodol. It’s not for me, as local government Minister, to set targets that are in the province of the Minister responsible in this area nor in relation to schools, but I do agree with the general point that the Member was making. Local authorities play a very important role in relation to the Welsh language. That’s why my predecessor commissioned a...
Mark Drakeford: ...to transforming the expectations, experiences and outcomes for all learners, including those with additional learning needs. The forthcoming introduction of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill will be a key milestone in the transformation journey that is already under way.
Mark Drakeford: ...summer was a two-footprint model. One based around city regions, covering strategic transport, land-use planning and economic development, and another aligned to health boards for services such as education improvement, social services and public protection. At this point, Dirprwy Lywydd, I have an open mind on the specifics of geography and function, but I am clear that these...
Mark Drakeford: Education remains a central priority for this Government.
Mark Drakeford: ...to transforming the expectations, experiences and outcomes for all learners, including those with additional learning needs. The forthcoming introduction of the additional learning needs and education tribunal (Wales) Bill will be a key milestone in the transformation journey that is already under way.
Mark Drakeford: ...; it will deliver a £100 million tax cut for small businesses; provide the best local government funding settlement in years; confirm our investment in the intermediate care fund; raise school standards with a £20 million investment next year; safeguard and increase funding for the pupil deprivation grant; take forward work on the UK’s most generous childcare offer for working parents....
Mark Drakeford: .... The protection of 1 per cent, which was a feature of the last Assembly term, has not been possible to provide again in this Assembly term, but there are very significant investments in the education field. There is £20 million for general education improvement as part of the £100 million commitment that we made as a Government, and those budgets that are there as part of the pupil...
Mark Drakeford: .... As a result of their advice, it has been updated to take account of the latest population estimates, it has been updated to take account of the latest information in relation to pupils attending schools, and it has begun to take account of the latest advice in relation to social services expenditure. There was a major reform of the way in which social services expenditure was to be...
Mark Drakeford: ...subject of local government, very well set out the wide agenda of vitally important services that local government provides and the important part it plays in the lives of every citizen in Wales: educating our children, looking after the elderly, disposing of our waste, lighting our streets and much, much more. As far as the second leg of the motion is concerned, of course, we share the...
Mark Drakeford: Job creation, closing the education attainment gap and improving skill levels are our key priorities and represent the most effective levers at our disposal to tackle poverty in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: The current curriculum requires financial education for all learners. Estyn is reviewing provision in schools and will publish recommendations in the spring on how financial education can improve. In Financial Capability Week, I should highlight our partnership with the Money Advice Service, which supports money management teaching in schools.
Mark Drakeford: Based on the latest available information, all schools in Islwyn meet the current bandwidth targets of 10 Mbps to primary schools and 100 Mbps to secondary schools, set under the Learning in Digital Wales grant programme.
Mark Drakeford: Supporting a strong economy, closing the education attainment gap and improving skill levels are our key priorities and represent the most effective levers at our disposal to improve living standards in Wales.
Mark Drakeford: It is important that nurse education continues to develop to ensure the training provided to individuals equips them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deal with the challenges we face in Wales. We continue to work with key stakeholders to ensure appropriate development.
Mark Drakeford: ...thought it right to bring the LCM before this Assembly for it to make a determination. And Nick Ramsay's absolutely right that, as we move into this area more, there will be a job of learning and education for other parts of the system to understand the way that we work here. However, having said that, we do support the creation of a single criminal offence that will apply to all taxes...
Mark Drakeford: Budget discussions were held with a range of stakeholders and Cabinet colleagues on financial issues, including priorities within the education main expenditure group, which informed the spending plans approved yesterday.
Mark Drakeford: The additional £0.5 million investment will help provide quality meals and services during the school summer holidays, supporting those in some of Wales’s most deprived communities.
