School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2018

Helen Whately Excerpts

Wednesday 21st March 2018 General Committees

[Mike Kane]

I could not agree more. Schools are having to make heinous decisions. In the Minister’s county, West Sussex, some are already threatening a four-day week because of the budget cuts.

[Helen Whately (Faversham and Mid Kent) (Con)]

Does the hon. Gentleman welcome the real-terms funding increase that schools across the country are getting between now and 2020?

[Mike Kane]

The hon. Lady was recently quoted in KentOnline boasting about a 0.5% real-terms increase in school funding, but when inflation in education is running at 3% or 4% that will be a massive cut for schools in her area.

[Helen Whately]

It is a real-terms increase.

[The Chair]

Order.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Gibb]

There are two points. First, we have only been able to deliver these high levels of spending on schools, rising from £41 billion this year to £42.4 billion next year and £43.5 billion the year after, because the way in which we have managed the economy means we can afford to do so. A Labour Government, particularly a Labour Government under the current leadership—any future Government led by the party opposite—would bankrupt our economy and there would be no chance of any of these increases in funding coming into our public services. We have to have a strong economy first of all. Secondly, responding to the hon. Lady’s point, schools in Bradford West, as she should know, would attract 1.3% more funding if the national funding formula were implemented in full, based on the 2017-18 data. That is equivalent to £1.4 million more funding for those schools.

[Helen Whately]

Having campaigned for the fairer funding formula on behalf of my Kent constituency, I welcome the formula. For many years, similar schools with similar pupils in other areas were getting significantly more money than schools in my area.

[Mike Kane]

It is 0.5%.

[Helen Whately]

It gives children in my constituency a fairer chance of getting the good education they need, coupled with rising funding. It is truly welcome.

[Nick Gibb]

The hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East said from a sedentary position that it is 0.5%. Schools in Faversham and Mid Kent would attract 6.4% more funding if the national funding formula were implemented in full based on the 2017-18 data. That is equivalent to £2.7 million, so I understand why my hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent made her intervention.

The new funding formula will be fairer. The additional funds mean, as I have said, that spending will rise from £41 billion this year to £43.5 billion by 2019-20. As the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has confirmed, that will allow us to maintain schools and high-need funding in real terms per pupil for the next two years. I hope that answers the comments made by the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East. As the IFS also pointed out, by 2020 real-terms funding per pupil will be 70% higher than it was in 1990, and 50% higher than it was in 2000.