4. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the education cuts set out in the Government's draft budget don't disproportionately impact the most vulnerable children? OQ60500

Supporting our most vulnerable learners and tackling the impacts of poverty on attainment is central to our national mission. Our draft budget seeks to protect funding for schools and for programmes like the pupil development grant, ensuring support is available to those who need it most.

Thank you for that response, Minister. You know better than anyone in this Senedd the impact that serious cuts to the budget will have. Following the cuts to your own budget, there is concern now about funding additional learning need. As there is talk of grants shifting to the broader grants budget pot, I have heard concern that cuts to these important grants in ALN will have an impact. Laura Anne Jones and Peredur Owen Griffiths raised this with the Minister for Finance and Local Government before Christmas. Indeed, Peredur Owen Griffiths raised the old trick of hiding cuts by moving to a larger pot so that administrative costs are cut. Minister, can you give us a pledge that there won't be cuts to the additional learning need grants that are so important to children and families?

Well, I will take the opportunity to state again that there is no cut to that budget.

Following on from that same theme, actually, and I won't rehearse everything Rhys said—. Basically, whilst we know—. The perceived £22.1 million, which was the perceived ALN cut, has now entered the reformed local authority education grant, and it's in theory to support ALN. With that in mind, Minister, can we be reassured, building on what Rhys said, that that £22.1 million dedicated to ALN as we knew it won't be lost within that reformed grant and diverted from its original purpose, to help those young people who have ALN? Is it your expectation that local authorities use all of that resource to implement your legislative changes? I'm just conscious of the pressure councils are going to be facing, as they have to potentially mobilise resources from many other sources. It's so important that that ALN allocation, wherever it sits, is used for its purpose.

Yes, I'm certain it will be used for its purpose and I know that in a previous life I'm sure he would have welcomed the partnership approach and the collaborative approach that underpin the changes that we're making to these grants, so that we can work with authorities to deliver the outcomes that we both have in common as priorities. As I've said in my responses to many questions today, over £53.6 million is protected in the draft budget for next year, and I'm glad that that's the case. It's a very important priority for the Government. We've already discussed today the pressures on schools in relation to the reforms themselves. That's why protecting the budget and providing authorities the level of flexibility to deploy that, perhaps even more creatively or more innovatively than the current arrangements allow, is a really important way to focus on the outcomes that we are trying to achieve.

The pressures on budgets because of the deeply unsatisfactory settlement from the UK Government is intense right across the UK and right across Welsh Government in every department. But one of the big successes that we have had is the focus in recent years on making sure that those pupils in those communities that face the greatest disadvantage have the right measures put in place to protect them, so things such as the joint work with Plaid Cymru on things such as free school meals, but the free school breakfast as well, for primary schools; the school essentials grant; the rise in the educational maintenance allowance; the assistance with school uniforms—all of these things really matter to constituents in some of the most disadvantaged situations within my community. So, can I just get his assurance that even when faced with really difficult choices across budgets at the moment, he will work with local education authorities to make sure that we can continue to line up those measures that will give that hand up to pupils and to families who face the greatest challenges?

Yes, I will absolutely give that assurance to Huw Irranca-Davies. He makes very important points. If you look through the budget, despite horrendously difficult choices that we've had to make—and all Ministers have been in that situation—we've been able to protect the pupil development grant. We've been able to protect the school holiday enrichment programme. We've been able to protect the increased level of education maintenance allowance, as you were saying. We've been able to protect the increased level of the financial contingency fund, which further education colleges use to support learners who are eligible for free school meals. There have been other areas that have had to be cut in order to make these choices to protect these important elements in the budget, and I know, as he will, that our local authorities are doing all they can to try and find ways in which they themselves can protect the same cohort of learners, who will be having a very, very challenging time, and I give him the commitment that I will continue to work with our local authorities on that shared priority.

Question 5, Laura Anne Jones.

You have a question on the order paper, Laura Anne Jones—question 5.

I need to see what question it is.

I don't think you're ready to do your question. I'll move on and give somebody else the opportunity.

Question 5 [OQ60525] not asked.

Question 6, Alun Davies.