Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

One of the four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales is to support learners to become enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work. Guidance has been provided to support schools to design curricula that provide enterprise opportunities and experiences for their learners. 

I have set out my priorities for improving educational standards through increasing attendance, enhancing attainment in literacy and numeracy and supporting learner mental health and well-being.

Decisions on the level of funding available to schools and to other services are made by each authority as part of their overall budget and council tax setting. This is in line with the Welsh Government’s policy that local authorities are best placed to judge local needs and circumstances.

In November 2023 there were 4,675 teaching assistants, higher level teaching assistants and additional learning needs support staff in the North Wales region. The employment and deployment of school support staff is currently a matter for individual employers, whether this is the school or the local authority.

The responsibility for managing a council’s budget lies with its elected members and senior team. Work by Audit Wales on financial sustainability confirms that, overall, local authorities in Wales continue to manage and plan their budgets effectively.

The Welsh Government’s disabled people’s employment champions gave a presentation to the workforce partnership council, which includes local authorities, on the Disability Confident employer scheme in March. A similar presentation is planned for the Welsh Local Government Association.

We continue to prioritise front-line public services in our budget decisions. We are committed to continuing to use and maintain a fair and transparent funding formula for the local government settlement, which is agreed with local government.