Plaid Cymru make Labour additional learning needs offer in budget deal bid

Wales’ Plaid Cymru government is offering extra cash for children with additional learning needs (ALN) in an attempt to get a deal with the Labour party in Cardiff Bay, BBC Wales has been told.

Plaid, which is the biggest party but has less than half the seats in the Senedd, needs extra votes to agree its mid-year spending plans next Tuesday.

It is not known how much money is on the table, but a senior Labour source says the initial offer is not enough.

Plaid Cymru published its supplementary budget last month, with an extra £40m to try to bring down NHS waiting lists, £55m for the flagship childcare expansion and £40m for school repairs.

At the time, Finance Minister Elin Jones outlined plans to allocate an extra £294m to fund her party’s policies.

A total of £247m in day-to-day funding has been left unallocated, but Plaid Cymru sources say they are mindful of looming pressures later in 2026 and into the new year, especially in the NHS.

Discussions about a deal have been taking place between Labour and Plaid, and BBC Wales has been told that Plaid has presented a set of proposals, thought to include extra money for ALN.

Labour and other opposition parties have been pressing ministers to allocate more funding for councils to deal with ALN pressures.

A separate Labour source said that “nothing was off the table” in terms of whether Labour would eventually support Plaid’s plans.

The Welsh government has received extra money as a consequence of money spent by the UK government to pay off the debts of English councils built up through supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities.