Schools: Funding Formula

Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his comments about the efficiency of multi-academy trusts. One study shows that multi-academy trusts can achieve a saving of £146 per pupil. As I said, we are still recovering from the financial hole that we inherited in 2010 and we all have to adjust our resources. Schools have had a huge increase in money in recent years. We are trying very hard and have a lot of resources available on our government website to help them become more efficient.

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister apologise for the fact that the Government are taking money out for their own pet schemes for grammar schools and depriving children in other schools in other parts of the country? Will he agree to go away and look at whether the Government’s pet schemes should have additional money that is not stolen from children in other schools?

[Lord Nash]

I will not apologise any more than the party opposite has apologised for the probably £10 billion that it wasted on its Building Schools for the Future programme.