Roger Williams
Main Page: Roger Williams (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)Department Debates - View all Roger Williams's debates with the Wales Office
(12 years, 10 months ago)
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Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)
5. What recent assessment she has made of the effect of the autumn statement on the allocation of funds to the National Assembly for Wales.
The Secretary of State for Wales (Mrs Cheryl Gillan)
The autumn statement, and the subsequent written ministerial statement by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, confirmed that the Welsh Government will receive an extra £238 million in Barnett consequentials. This additional money is an opportunity for the Welsh Government to act in the areas they are responsible for to ensure that Wales has a bright future.
Roger Williams
As a result of extra funding, the pupil deprivation fund, which was agreed to by the Welsh Government and Welsh Liberal Democrats, will mean that schools in Wales are better resourced, closing the education funding gap between England and Wales. For example, Maes-y-Dderwen school in my constituency will receive an extra £34,000 a year. Does the Secretary of State agree that this will help children and young people in Wales after 13 years of Labour underfunding in education?
Mrs Gillan
I agree with my hon. Friend, because it was the extra funding from the Treasury to the Welsh Government that enabled the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats in the Assembly to negotiate the extra funding for the pupil deprivation fund. That merely follows what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education has introduced in England. It is worth reflecting that after 13 years of Labour government the spending gap between England and Wales remained at around £600 per pupil.