2. Mr Brooks asked the Minister of Finance to outline what provision there is in the 2025-26 draft Budget for measures to address educational underachievement. (AQO 1706/22-27)

Tackling educational underachievement is key to improving the life chances for individuals in our society, particularly those experiencing the most disadvantage. It is also vital for developing a thriving economy that offers opportunity for all. It is the responsibility of the education bodies and, ultimately, the Education Minister to ensure that schools and teachers are supported in addressing the issue. The Department of Education has received significant increases in funding from the Executive in recent years. Its 2024-25 opening resource budget was almost £300 million or 11.6% higher than in 2023-24. That is before any in-year allocations are taken into account.

The draft Budget for 2025-26 sees the Education resource DEL budget increasing by another 9·4%, excluding earmarked funding. We know that early years intervention provides the best long-term outcomes for our children, particularly those facing disadvantage. In addition to increases in the day-to-day budget for the Department of Education, the 2025-26 draft Budget provides £50 million for the early learning and childcare strategy, doubling the amount for 2024-25. The Executive have also committed to providing a further £5 million in the June monitoring round. That funding is aimed at delivering improved outcomes for children and parents.

I also announced last week £27·5 million for the Department of Education’s proposal to support children with special educational needs (SEN) to reform services and ensure better outcomes for children. That proposal will support a suite of pilot programmes focused on early intervention and building an appropriately skilled workforce. It is for the Education Minister to identify how his Department can deliver its priorities within its budget allocation.

At a recent Education Committee meeting, the expert panel on educational underachievement expressed concern that the allocation for 'A Fair Start' in 2024-25 amounted to £2·6 million or 6% of the £41·2 million that it had laid out in its action plan, despite it having cross-party support and being referenced in many manifestos. How does the Minister intend to support the Education Minister in delivering against that shortfall, which impacts particularly on our working-class communities?

I commend the independent review of education on its report. The findings and the implementation of that report are down to the Education Minister. The costings in the report are at a point in time; I think that they were based on the 2023-24 Budget. The position has significantly changed since then with regard to the Department of Education. I suggest that perhaps a review of those costings matched against the current provision to Education may prove worthwhile.

As I said in my original answer, the Department of Education has received a considerable uplift. I am not saying for one second that the Department of Education or any Department, for that matter, is receiving all the funds that it requires, but all Departments have received considerable uplifts since the Assembly returned.

Will the Minister address the underfunding of education here compared with other jurisdictions, as highlighted by the independent review of education?

It is often difficult to compare like for like in funding between this jurisdiction and other jurisdictions for education. As I said to Mr Brooks, the funding referred to in the independent review is at a point in time, and I think it is against the 2023-24 Budget. There has been a significant uplift in funding for the Department of Education since then, and I will continue to work with the Education Minister and other Ministers to do what I can, as Finance Minister, to support them financially. How they use the resources is a matter for each Minister.

Minister, will you update us on any bids that your Department has received from the Department of Education?

The only bids that we would receive are those made through monitoring rounds. The Department of Education has benefited from monitoring rounds whenever my Department has had funds available to match its needs, and it benefited from the recent transformation fund. I think that around £27 million was directed towards the Department of Education for special educational needs specifically. It has benefited from those sources.

The draft Budget is out for consultation. Once the consultation closes, the Executive will make decisions on what will be allocated to each Department.

Given the severity and scale of the numbers impacted by special educational needs and the number of commitments in the Programme for Government (PFG) for it, would it be beneficial to ring-fence some of the funding that goes to the Department for special educational needs so that there could be a guarantee of that money being directed to those who need it most?

Ring-fencing is an option for the Executive. I make recommendations to the Executive on the Budget, and ring-fencing allocations for specific cases in any Department will be an option for the Executive. If I were to make recommendations on that basis, I would do so in line with the Programme for Government commitments.