Clwyd West MS and Shadow Minister for North Wales Darren Millar is appalled that Denbighshire County Council is cutting its spending on schools and is calling on the Leader and his Cabinet to “rethink their budget”.
Last week parents in the county received a letter from Headteachers informing them of proposed cuts to school budgets in Denbighshire, which they warned will “negatively impact our children’s present and future”.
Darren said such cuts would not be necessary if the Welsh Government funded local authorities properly and were not proposing to cut the Welsh education budget.
He also said eliminating wasteful and non-urgent spending by the council could protect schools.
He said:
“As a parent and former school governor, I share the concerns of parents and teachers about the proposed cuts to school budgets in Denbighshire. The proposed cuts will have a devastating impact on the education of our children and young people and cannot be justified.
“The pressures on school funding are a direct result of decisions taken by the Welsh Government, which is proposing to cut the Welsh education budget in the next financial year. This is having consequences on the funding available to local councils to support schools in their areas and is compounding the pressures already faced by Denbighshire County Council and other North Wales local authorities, which regularly receive poorer financial settlements from Ministers in Cardiff Bay than councils in South Wales.
“I have challenged the Welsh Government in the Senedd to reprioritise its budget, reverse plans to cut the education budget and give fair funding allocations to Denbighshire and other councils in North Wales.”
He added:
“Funding for schools in England is increasing from April and that means that the Welsh Government could spend more on schools here too because for every £1 spent on a pupil in England, Ministers receive £1.20 to spend on pupils here in Wales. Regrettably, instead of improving funding for schools, Welsh Government Ministers are wasting precious resources on matters which should not be regarded as a priority, including spending increasing the number of politicians in the Senedd, changing speed limits and spending millions on overseas offices.
“In addition to challenging the Welsh Government over these matters I am also pressing the Leader of Denbighshire County Council to eliminate wasteful and non-urgent spending by the council to and reprioritise the local authority’s budget to protect schools.
“I firmly believe that our children and young people deserve the best start in life. Parents and teachers can be assured that I will continue to challenge the Welsh Government and Denbighshire County Council on these matters.”
