THE leader of Swansea Conservatives has challenged the Welsh Government to spend more than £1bn extra on schools following an education pledge from Prime Minister.
Councillor Lyndon Jones and his deputy, Councillor Myles Langstone, have emailed Gower AM and Minister for Finance Rebecca Evans after Boris Johnson promised a £14bn uplift in primary and secondary school spending in England over three years.
Cllr Jones said Wales would, as a result, be allocated £1.24bn extra.
The Welsh Government said it would not comment on such spending announcements until the full details were published.
Referring to the £1.24 bn, Cllr Jones and Cllr Langstone said: “This money will be paid to the Welsh Government, so we hope they will pass this money on to schools throughout Wales and not waste it on things like buying an airport, because it is important that pupils in Wales do not fall even further behind pupils in England.
“We have therefore written to the Finance Minister to ask her to guarantee that she will pass on this money to schools and that Swansea will get its fair share.”
Mr Johnson’s education pledge is one of several he has made since taking office.
The Local Democracy Reporter Service put the Swansea Conservatives’ education spending challenge to Ms Evans and the Welsh Government.
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “We will not comment on individual spending announcements until the full details are published.
“We need full details of our allocations at the same time as the UK Government make such announcements. It is not acceptable for us to have to wait long periods of time.”
He added: “Past behaviour tells us that we must also be sceptical as to the amount of ‘new’ money, and the amount that is found from within departmental budgets.”
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