Schools: National Funding Formula

Fiona Bruce Excerpts

Thursday 14th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

As I said at the beginning of my statement, the NAHT welcomed the move to fair funding. As for teacher recruitment, part of the answer is to ensure that we are investing in teachers, and the NAO was clear that the Department is taking steps to ensure that we do just that.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

I thank Ministers for meeting senior headteachers from my constituency, and for responding to their principal request, which is that to be truly fair to pupils across the country, and to cover school costs properly, school funding should include a minimum amount per pupil, wherever they live. I also thank Ministers for allocating £4,800 per pupil from 2019, which is exactly the amount that my headteachers recommended. Does that not show that this Government are not only listening, but acting?

[Justine Greening]

We have listened carefully and have had meetings with many Members from across the House. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Minister for School Standards for holding many of those meetings alongside me. My hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) and other Cheshire MPs have been tireless campaigners on behalf of their local communities and schools, and I have appreciated the comments, suggestions and proposals. They carried weight, which is why they have been reflected in the final funding formula that I have set out today.