Written question WQ98440

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 and to fund schools accordingly.

Following the Draft Budget for 2026-27, which was published on 3 November, an agreement was reached which secures almost £300m of additional investment in Wales’ public service. The budget agreement includes additional funding for local government in 2026-27 – an extra £112.8m.

The Local Government Settlement for 2026-27 will provide £6.6bn from the Welsh Government Revenue Support Grant (RSG) and Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) to spend on delivering key services, including the funding of schools. This is an average increase of 4.5% on a like-for-like basis, with all local authorities receiving increases above 4%.

The Vale of Glamorgan Local Authority will receive £240.1m in their 2026-27 settlement; this is a 4.3% increase on 2025-26.

In addition to this un-hypothecated funding, the Welsh Government also provides hypothecated funding through the Local Authority Education Grant. In the 2026-27 Budget, £418.3m is being invested through this grant to support schools and local authorities; this is an increase on 2025-26 of over 4%.

The Vale of Glamorgan Local Authority received £18.1m through the Local Authority Education Grant in 2025-26; this includes additional in-year funding to support ALN, as well as funding which I recently agreed to target specific support for schools causing concern. For 2026-27, they will receive a further £18.3m through the same grant.