Welsh Labour Government urged to “reverse” £15m in planned cuts to school grants
A senior Conservative is today calling on the Welsh Government to reverse plans to cut £15m from the schools budget next year.
The Education Improvement Grant (EIG) is shared out among schools and is used to improve the quality of teaching, learning, leadership, and to support inclusion.
But the Welsh Government’s draft budget sets out plans to slash the EIG by £22m over two years, with £15m being cut from April 2018.
Darren Millar AM, the Welsh Conservative Shadow Education Secretary, called for the plans to be ditched, pointing to the increased support needed by the Welsh schools system to improve low standards in performance.
He said: “With Wales at the bottom of the UK education league tables we can ill afford to allow the Welsh Government to slash budgets targeted at improving standards and leadership in our schools.
“Welsh pupils already receive over £600 less per head than their counterparts in England so the Cabinet Secretary must look again at this grant stream to ensure that schools get the resources they need.
“We must do everything we can to support the next generation and help them succeed in life; these cuts must be reversed.”
