Cabinet Secretary, I welcome the announcement from the Welsh Government of the new £36 million fund to address infant class sizes. Nobody can seriously argue—apart from one or two Members present—that it is desirable that 7.6 per cent of infants school pupils in Wales are in classes of more than 30. That is 8,196 young children vying for the attention and support of their teachers and teaching assistants in a packed classroom. Estyn have been categorical that this is a policy that most benefits the most disadvantaged pupils and pupils whose first language is not English or Welsh.

The Welsh Government is to be commended on following the evidence to ensure that this money is targeted properly to raise standards for all of our pupils. I’m heartened that the new fund will also have at its heart targeting schools where there are high levels of deprivation. For a Constituency like mine, it is imperative that we seek to tackle the cycle of poverty that limits the educational and life opportunities of young children, especially within the communities of Islwyn.

I would ask for clarification, however, on the process of bidding that is required to access this funding. Your statement references that local authorities, via consortia, will bid for funding to support schools against the prescribed criteria. Those criteria include business cases being made that take into account a wide range of data, including school capacity, teacher-to-pupil ratio, attendance performance, including free school meals performance, categorisation, school action and the number of special educational needs statemented pupils. What reassurance, then, can the Cabinet Secretary give me, and can you give to, as well, educationists, practitioners and local authorities that have expressed concern at a potential extra tier of bureaucracy acting as a barrier between getting the money from Welsh Government into the classroom? Thank you.