Education Funding: Distribution

Debate between Steve Darling and Pippa Heylings

Wednesday 28th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Pippa Heylings]

That goes to the heart of it. All children, no matter where they live, deserve the right to, and the opportunity of, the best education they can have.

Let me return to the issue of the debt, and the deficit that the council is holding as a result of the statutory override. Independent analysis suggests that by 2028, the national dedicated schools grant deficit could lie somewhere between £5.9 billion and £13 billion.

[Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate. Torbay unitary authority is the most deprived local authority in the south-west of England, and also the most deprived local authority that has the joy of having a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament. However, we are also a member of the f40 group. In 2023, we signed up to a safety valve agreement which effectively snatches SEND placements from children in our systems. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to see the SEND White Paper rolled out there fast? Childhood is a very short period in one’s life, and children do not have the time to wait.

[Pippa Heylings]

I completely agree.

What does this mean for our schools? It is no surprise that 37 primary schools across Cambridgeshire are operating in deficit. Schools do not have any headroom left; they cannot absorb further pressures without making damaging choices about staffing, class sizes and support. I have heard from the schools in my constituency, including Linton infant school, Linton Heights junior school, Trumpington Meadows primary school, Fulbourn primary school, Comberton primary school and Barrington primary school. They have all told me that they have more children on their SEND register than their funding will cover. They are spending their core budgets on this provision, because they care, and because they know that they have a statutory duty.

Barrington primary school told me that staff are educating children in an area of rapid housing growth. The school is paying up front while waiting months for the funding to catch up. Schools are paying up front for education, health and care plans, and when the funding arrives, it falls well short of the true cost of full-time support. That makes responsible staffing and financial planning almost impossible, and I place on the record my thanks for the amazing work of all staff across all our schools.

As the chair of the children and young people’s committee at Cambridgeshire county council, Councillor Edna Murphy, has said, it is essential that every child has a good education that addresses their needs and supports their wellbeing. Teachers are working hard, and many children have a good experience, but all schools must be able to support children locally. That requires staff and facilities, which only proper funding can provide.

We cannot lose the support of the families and carers at the forefront of this issue. Alicia and Harry Watson are the parents of Penelope and Flora. Penelope is an autistic 10-year-old with pathological demand avoidance traits, severe anxiety, and complex sensory and eating difficulties, and she has been on the waiting list for an EHCP for over two years. Alicia and Harry are facing the horror that many parents in my constituency have had to face. They are navigating adversarial tribunal processes, exhausting all channels and doing the right things. Alicia says:

“Throughout this process, we have felt completely out of sight and out of mind. Passed between services. Told to wait. Told thresholds were not met. Told funding was not available. Told support was being ‘explored’ while months went by and nothing changed”.

Importantly, Alicia has had to give up her NHS career as a care co-ordinator—work that she loved and was proud to do in the public sector. She did not leave by choice; she says:

“I left because my children needed me to step in where the system would not”.

The system is affecting productivity and economic growth. It is emotionally devastating, inefficient and expensive. That would be avoidable if funding were aligned with need earlier.

As the Government look to unveil SEND reforms through the schools White Paper, we urge them to ensure that sufficient extra funding is in place, and to reform the funding formula. I ask the Minister for clarity and certainty. When will the Government publish the overdue schools White Paper? Do they intend to review and rebalance the proportion of funding that is for the high needs block, so that funding is fairer between different areas? How will fast-growing counties—or unitaries, under the local government reorganisation—such as Cambridgeshire be funded proportionately and fairly, so that schools, councils and communities are not penalised for growth?

Finally, when the statutory override ends in 2028, will the Government take over responsibility, or will they leave local authorities facing bankruptcy and carrying historical SEND debt, which is in no one’s interests, and definitely not in the interests of the children and young people whose education we are all striving to improve.

Great British Energy Bill

Debate between Steve Darling and Pippa Heylings

Report stage
Tuesday 29th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

I start by thanking the Minister for how constructively he has worked with me, and by thanking the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) for his words just now. I also thank all the colleagues who have sat on the Great British Energy Bill Committee. It is encouraging that this legislation has been given a prime spot at the beginning of this Parliament, and I thank the Clerks and the Speaker’s Office for their diligent work in administering the Bill thus far, as well as all the Members who have taken the opportunity to represent their constituents’ aspirations and concerns regarding the Bill. As many Members know, this is my first Bill as spokesperson for energy security and net zero, and I have appreciated all the support I have been given.

I also acknowledge colleagues from across the House who have lent their support to the amendments to which I am going to speak, and have also tabled their own. In particular, I recognise the contribution made by the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay), whose amendment promotes a nature recovery duty. He will know that nature recovery is close to my heart, and that I raised that topic in Committee. Last week, I had the privilege of attending the UN conference on biodiversity in Cali, Colombia—a poignant reminder of how it is impossible to address climate change and energy security without tackling the nature emergency. National energy infrastructure must therefore be nature-positive and aligned with the obligations in the Environment Act 2021.

As the Minister knows, the Liberal Democrats support the Bill in principle, because we want a nationwide energy system that will bring down energy bills and provide clean, green energy. Amendment 3, which stands in my name, would guarantee that Great British Energy is established within six months of the Bill becoming law. We all know that as a result of the Conservative Government’s delay and dither, we are not on track to meet our ambitious targets.

[Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)]

I echo that. Torbay has an oven-ready solar scheme that would power our hospital and our council, yet because the national grid is not fit for purpose, that scheme has remained a blueprint. Does my hon. Friend agree that building capacity in the national grid is absolutely essential if this Bill is to be successful?

[Pippa Heylings]

I agree very much with my hon. Friend. National grid capacity is critical if we are to unblock all of these projects, which are so critical to powering our community services, our public services and the national economy. That is why we need to ensure there is no delay, and that is what amendment 3 speaks to.

Amendment 4, which also stands in my name, would ensure that Great British Energy has an explicit duty to help deliver energy efficiency through

“an emergency home insulation programme with targeted support for people on low incomes”,

as well as the expansion of renewables. This Bill has the power to transform lives, but also to protect lives. Warm hubs are becoming too familiar in my constituency of South Cambridgeshire: Comberton, Duxford, Melbourn, Meldreth and Toft are just a few of the village hubs run by amazing volunteers in the local community that provide warmth to those who have to make the heartbreaking choice between heating and eating. It is frankly astonishing that this is now a reality for so many in the UK in 2024, and is a damning indictment of the last Government’s record on prioritising home insulation. Insulated homes mean warmer homes, which in turn means safer homes. The NHS spends an estimated £1.4 billion annually on treating illnesses associated with people living in cold and damp housing, and amendment 4 would seek to address this.

Amendment 4 also seeks to capitalise on our unique opportunity to be world-leading in renewable energy, which the Lib Dems know from our own track record. We must ensure that Great British Energy is duty-bound to support those activities. If renewable energy and home insulation can be rolled out at speed so that we can meet those vital climate targets, that will reduce energy demand, bring down energy bills and provide green, future-proofed, well-paid jobs for the UK.

I turn to amendment 5 on community energy. At every stage of the Bill, the Liberal Democrats have raised our concerns, and those of many MPs from other parties and of the many community energy groups and communities that we represent, that as it stands, the Bill is missing a vital limb. It lists four objects for Great British Energy, but nowhere does it mention supporting the growth of community energy.