Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Barry Gardiner and Sam Gyimah

Monday 20th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Barry Gardiner (Brent North) (Lab)]

Primary schools in Brent regularly have classes of 29 children with 21 different mother tongues. How is it possible that a fairer funding formula can discount against such schools relative to others that do not labour under such difficulties?

[Mr Gyimah]

We need to consult widely to understand the issues, but what we do know is that, around the country, the funding for schools with the same characteristics are based on historical allocation, rather than on the needs of either the school or the pupil.