Labour Intervenes To Give Carmarthenshire Schools First Budget Increase in Three Years

Carmarthenshire schools are set to receive their first cash increase in three years with the Welsh Government announcing an additional £2.57m for education and £1.5m for road repairs.

Having fought against the Plaid Cymru and Independent coalition’s cuts to the school budgets for the last three years, Welsh Labour Councillors have been working with Welsh Government colleagues to offset the proposed cuts to the School Delegated budget and provide schools with additional cash to prevent further redundancies.

In addition to the £2.57m that had been announced by the Welsh Labour Government for local education, £1.557m has also been allocated to address the proliferation of pot holes across Carmarthenshire.

Welcoming the Welsh Government announcement, Welsh Labour Leader, Cllr Rob James stated “We are thrilled to hear that schools in Carmarthenshire will receive additional funds this year and we sincerely hope that the extra revenue will prevent schools having to make redundancies.

“Our fantastic teachers and teaching assistants work incredibly hard to provide the best possible start for Carmarthenshire pupils. We hear of stories of teachers having to purchase stationery out of their own pockets, working out of their contracted hours or in some cases bringing in food for pupils, to ensure that the cuts being made by Carmarthenshire Council do not hinder our children’s progression.

“I’d like to thank my Welsh Labour Government colleagues for their support in ensuring that schools in Carmarthenshire are given their first budget increase in three years.

“In the coming days, we will release our alternative budget which will illustrate that Labour has a costed alternative to the proposed Plaid Cymru cuts to vulnerable individuals receiving care in the community, the proposed partial closures of libraries and museums and ensure that we tackle the excessive executive pay that currently exists in this Authority for far too long.”