Schools: Funding

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I am grateful to my noble friend for his good wishes. As local authorities are currently responsible for setting their own funding formula for schools, there are 152 varying local funding formulae. We are currently consulting on our proposals to introduce one single national formula for schools. From 2019, funding will be allocated directly to schools on the basis of that formula. This means that, for example, a secondary school pupil with lower prior attainment will attract the same amount of additional funding wherever they are in the country.

[Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister accept that deprivation and need must be part of fairness?

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with the noble Baroness. That will be very much behind our reforms.