Concise Minutes

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Attendance

Category	Names
Assembly Members:	Lynne Neagle AM (Chair) Hefin David AM John Griffiths AM Darren Millar AM Mark Reckless AM
Witnesses:	Vaughan Gething AM, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services Huw Irranca-Davies AM, Minister for Children and Social Care Simon Dean, Welsh Government Alan Brace, Welsh Government Steve Davies, Welsh Government Kirsty Williams AM, Cabinet Secretary for Education Huw Morris, Welsh Government
Committee Staff:	Llinos Madeley (Clerk) Sarah Bartlett (Deputy Clerk) Michael Dauncey (Researcher) Sarah Hatherley (Researcher)

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1 Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest

1.1 The Chair welcomed the Committee. Apologies were received from Michelle Brown, Julie Morgan and Llyr Gruffydd. There were no substitutions.

1.2 Under SO 17.24, Darren Millar AM declared he was a parent of pupils in Denbighshire and a member of a governing body with a budget deficit.

2 Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Budget 2018 - 19

2.1 The Committee scrutinised the Welsh Government on the draft budget.

3 Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Budget 2018 - 19

3.1 The Committee scrutinised the Welsh Government on the draft budget. The Cabinet Secretary agreed to provide the following:

· Welsh Government correspondence with Powys and Denbighshire local authorities regarding the management of school reserves;

· Breakdown of the £25 million allocation of the Raising School Standards BEL for the 2018/19 financial year;

· Further information on the sufficiency of Local Authority and regional consortia support for governors;

· Update on the regional working review in the context of school governance;

· Note on the new memorandum of understanding around the expenditure of the EIG;

· Update on the number of local authority applications to reduce infant class sizes by local authority.

4 Paper(s) to note

The papers were noted.

4.1 Welsh Government paper on skills and science budget lines (submitted to the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee and Children, Young People and Education Committee jointly)

4.2 Letter from Cwm Taf University Board - Perinatal Mental Health Report

4.3 Letter from the Welsh Government - Community Focused Schools

4.4 Letter from the Children's Commissioner - follow up to the meeting on the annual report on 18 October

4.5 Letter from the Welsh Government - Learner Travel

4.6 Letter from the Welsh Government - follow up to general scrutiny session on HE and FE on 18 October

4.7 Letter to the Welsh Government - funding for Governors Wales

4.8 Letter from the Chair to the Welsh Government - further follow-up to general scrutiny session on 20 July

4.9 Letter from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Wales - Perinatal Mental Health Report

4.10 Committee Forward Work Programme

5 Motion under Standing Order 17.42(ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting for the remainder of the meeting.

The Motion was agreed.

6 Welsh Government draft budget 2018 - 19 - consideration of the evidence

The Committee discussed the evidence sessions.