T6. Ms Brownlee asked the Minister of Education to give the House a further update on the budgetary pressures that his Department faces, which he touched on slightly in the previous answer. (AQT 446/22-27)

The Department's resource allocation for 2024-25 is significantly less than what is required and leaves a considerable shortfall across the education sector. Education will require substantially more funding during this Budget period if we are to avoid a significant and detrimental impact on our children and young people.

My Department has submitted resource bids totalling £293 million and capital bids totalling £113 million in the June monitoring round. Those pressures include, among other things, additional funding for our schools, including a much-needed school maintenance programme; investment in our children with special educational needs; the EA pay and grading review; and a teachers' pay award for September 2024. The inability to fund those pressures could, in turn, lead to intensified industrial action and a return to action short of strike in the autumn, which has been crippling to our education system. However, given the quantum of the sector's need and the funds available for allocation, I anticipate that any additional allocations received in the June monitoring round will not meet all my Department's inescapable pressures, and many difficult decisions will need to be taken over coming months. I am working through, with my officials, what options are available and what difficult decisions can be taken, some of which will be cross-cutting. To that end, it will be important that my Executive colleagues understand the pressures that Education faces.

I thank the Minister for his honest response. I understand that, in my constituency, a number of schools are waiting for the school enhancement programme to be announced or moved forward. Does he have any more information on where that sits and the pressures on the budget for that programme?

I have approved the enhanced summer scheme provisions. Despite all the financial pressures that my Department faces, that funding will be made available and those schemes will be able to go ahead. I know that that is important to many families. I also want to take forward those capital programmes. I visited the Member's constituency, and we have looked at some of the schools there. We are taking forward that capital programme. If I can secure additional funding in the June monitoring round, I will be able to update the Member and the House on where I am able to allocate funding in due course.