Schools: National Funding Formula

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 14th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

This formula makes a big difference to schools in Devon. My hon. Friend has been a tireless campaigner for his local community in setting out the views of teachers and parents in Devon. This formula will mean that Devon schools gain, and I am proud that we are finally rectifying the unfair funding that so many schools have had to put up with for so long.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on delivering yet another of our election manifesto commitments. As a fellow London MP, she will know that we are affected by twin aspects in London. The first is rising rolls and young people needing a school place. Despite expanding a number of schools and delivering more new schools, that is ever a pressure. The second relates to those children who come in with English as an additional language—this situation is widespread. In the schools in my constituency, at least 161 different languages are spoken. Will she commit to keeping the funding position under review to make sure that additional resources are provided to deal with the expansion in the number of children in schools, so that per-pupil funding is not diluted?

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend will welcome the fact that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has made it clear that the amount of funding we are now putting into our schools does protect per-pupil funding in real terms. He is right to mention school places, as the estimate is that between 2015 and 2020 we will need an additional 600,000 extra school places, which is why we are investing so much in building new schools and expanding existing schools. I can assure him that we are very clear about where those pressures are, and we will seek to work with communities, MPs and local authorities to make sure that good school places are available for every child in our country.