William Powell AM has announced that schools in Mid and West Wales will be getting an extra £10,372,482 thanks to the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats today came to an agreement with the Welsh Labour Government that, in exchange for supporting the Welsh Government’s annual budget, schools will receive millions of pounds of extra investment through a ‘Pupil Deprivation Grant’ – a Welsh version of the ‘Pupil Premium’ in England.
The increase in the Pupil Deprivation Grant, established by the Welsh Liberal Democrats, means that the grant has more than doubled. From 2014 schools will receive £918 per pupil on free school meals.
As part of the deal, the Welsh Liberal Democrats also secured £50m extra to relieve pressure on struggling A&E departments.
William Powell AM said:
“I am delighted that schools in Mid and West Wales will be receiving £10,372,482 extra because of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
“The Welsh Liberal Democrats created this grant because we want to give every child a fairer start in life. Too often children from poorer backgrounds fall behind in school even at an early age. We want to put an end to this inequality. In doing so, we will be raising standards in our schools for all pupils across Wales.
“Helping poorer pupils was a key pledge in the Welsh Liberal Democrat’s 2011 manifesto. We appreciate how important education is to creating a fairer society. Sadly, schools in Wales have suffered from years of under-investment from the Welsh Labour Government. Today we are taking big steps to change that.
“I am also pleased that we have negotiated an extra £50 million to go towards helping our struggling A&E departments. It is critical that timely discharge arrangements are in place to ensure that more beds are freed up. This investment will relieve some of the pressure that is currently being placed on our A&E departments.”
