Wales' finance minister Elin Jones has called for urgent action to secure additional funding for Additional Learning Needs (ALN) this year, as she seeks cross-party support for a new supplementary budget.
In a letter to party leaders, Ms Jones said discussions with unions and councils show there needs to be an "urgent" agreement "that would unlock additional funding for ALN this year".
Background to the dispute
Before the summer break, Plaid's supplementary budget was defeated in the Senedd after Labour failed to back the minority government's plans. Labour argued Plaid had not committed enough funding towards ALN, while Plaid said Labour's demands would not make a long-term difference.
In July's discussions, Labour wanted £100m this financial year, but Plaid committed £40m to ALN for each of the next three years, a total of £120m.
New proposal and union involvement
Ms Jones' letter reveals a possible compromise, noting that the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has proposed an initial two-year funding settlement worth £100m over 2026-27 and 2027-28, with a significant majority of funding allocated directly to schools.
She wrote: "In a significant development, we recently received a letter from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), proposing an initial two-year funding settlement worth £100m over 2026-27 and 2027-28, with a significant majority of funding allocated directly to schools."
Unions NAHT Cymru and ASCL Cymru declared a collective trade dispute with the Welsh Government in July over funding, pay and ALN funding.
Next steps
Ms Jones said Plaid wants to bring forward another supplementary budget for 2026-27 "as soon as possible", which would include an additional £40 million for Additional Learning Needs in this financial year.
She added: "As a first step towards reaching a sustainable national model for ALN, we are keen to bring forward another supplementary budget for 2026-27 as soon as possible, with support from other parties in the Senedd."
In First Minister's Questions, Labour leader Ken Skates told Rhun ap Iorwerth "it isn't enough". Mr ap Iorwerth responded: "We have plans in place that we have put on the table, and I again invite the Labour leader to work with us on that, because it's about building on issues that are important to families."
A bigger test looms with negotiations for the 2027-28 budget, totalling around £27bn, which failing to pass would have huge repercussions across health, education, councils and farming.
