School Funding: Stockport

Tom Morrison Excerpts

Wednesday 14th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Lisa Smart]

I, too, have family members with ADHD diagnoses. We as a society have got much better at understanding neurodiversity. We understand the strengths of those who are neurodiverse and how best to educate and work with them. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that a better understanding of our fellow citizens is a good thing, and if that comes with a diagnosis, let us welcome that.

Councils receive a high-needs budget to pay for specialist places and extra support in mainstream schools. In Stockport, that came to just over £56 million this year, with more than 1,100 students holding high-needs places last year. That brings me to the deficit on the high-needs budget, which hangs over councils across England, and which Stockport knows well.

By March 2027, the cumulative deficit on Stockport’s dedicated schools grant is expected to reach about £68 million. Because of the statutory override, that sum sits in an unusable reserve, rather than on the council’s balance sheet, where it could be put to better use. The Government have said that, as part of their wider reforms to special educational needs provision, they will write off 90% of the accrued deficit at March 2027. For Stockport, that is an estimated £61 million, so of course I welcome that. It is the right thing to do, and councils have been asking for it for years. However, the override is due to end in March 2028, with a new funding model due to begin in April 2028. In between, Stockport expects to build up a further deficit of about £60 million across 2026-27 and 2027-28. The Government have said that more support will be confirmed, but that puts councils and schools in a difficult position, as they have to set budgets without knowing whether a sum almost as large as the first write-off will be covered. Schools and councils want to work with a clear understanding of what they should expect.

The council and families across the borough deserve better than that uncertainty. Parents of children with special educational needs should be provided with the certainty that school places will be available to them and that they do not have to worry about whether they will be funded. They should not be told that it depends on a funding model that is yet to be published. I would be really grateful if the Minister can update us on when schools should expect publication of the new funding model.

Funding disparities can disproportionately affect students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Stockport is one of the most polarised boroughs in the country. We have communities that are among the most affluent in the region, and we also have the most deprived ward in the whole of Greater Manchester. Children in that ward start school with disadvantages that, on average, will never pick up. A funding system that sees only the prosperous areas of a borough and sets the rate to match lets down those children. That is why Stockport is a founder member of the f40 group—the campaign of the lowest-funded local authorities—which has pressed for years for a fairer distribution of education funding. The case has not changed. The gaps mean that an average one-form-entry primary school in Stockport receives about £164,000 less each year than it would if it were based in Manchester. Headteachers in my constituency cannot simply absorb such a gap.

The pressure is not only on budgets. In Marple and the surrounding villages, families living in the catchment area of Marple Hall school find that their children are not offered a place because the school is oversubscribed.

[Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)]

My hon. Friend is making a really strong statement about the schools in her patch and in wider Stockport. The oversubscription of schools impacts Cheadle too. Schools such as Woodford primary school have been oversubscribed for some time. Does she think that if we crack the funding issue and make funding fairer, that would help the admissions system and give parents the peace of mind that they can choose the school that is best for their kid?

[Lisa Smart]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, my constituency neighbour, for raising that point. There are a number of challenges when it comes to admissions, and funding is part of the answer. Multi-academy trusts, which are their own admission authority, work alongside local councils, which have the responsibility to find a place for a child, but their wishes and desires do not always align. I am doing work—I have been in correspondence with the Minister—to find a way through that. Every child deserves a brilliant education at a good local school, and parents should be able to choose the right school for their child, so I strongly agree with my hon. Friend.

I have heard directly from parents about the effect on them of their children having to get a bus that drives past Marple Hall to get to the school where they have been assigned a place. School funding challenges are also reaching organisations that work alongside our schools. One of my constituents, David from Romiley, runs a social enterprise with his wife that delivers educational activities in primary schools. He came to see me because of the Government’s decision to end the PE and sport premium. He is now expecting to have to make redundancies among his staff.

Will the Minister look again at how the national funding formula treats areas such as Stockport? A system that locks in historical allocations and averages out pockets of real deprivation does not match funding to need. Will the Department review the way the formula is built and, if so, set out a timetable for doing so? Will the Minister confirm what support will be available for the deficits that build up in 2026-27 and 2027-28 before the override ends? Councils need certainty now, not in the spring. Will she commit to publishing those figures in good time?

Bramhall High School: Condition of Buildings

Tom Morrison Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)]

I thank the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), for attending this debate. He may recall that I wrote to the Department for Education last July and outlined that Bramhall high school is a fantastic institution that provides not only an excellent education, but a wealth of wider opportunities for young people in my Cheadle constituency. Despite the extremely poor state of its buildings, the school has continued to deliver for its pupils.

I have seen at first hand the challenges that the school faces. The site is simply not fit for purpose. One of the blocks has no access to water or toilet facilities, the corridors are extremely narrow, meaning movement between classes is a constant battle for teachers, and pupils have been using temporary cabins since November 2023. So no one will be surprised to learn that the school was extremely pleased to be invited to be part of the school rebuilding programme, which offered everyone a fresh start and an exciting opportunity to create something that matched the school’s incredible ambitions.

The school was presented with a number of options, including a full rebuild. That option would best serve the ambitions of the school and the wider community, and avoid further costly and disruptive work in the future. Rightly, the school hoped that this would be the way forward. We all believe that Bramhall high school could become a flagship project for the rebuild programme, with a legacy where long-term thinking is prioritised, students and teachers are empowered, and true potential is invested in.

When I met the school’s leadership team a few months ago, the headteacher, Mr Williams, told me how proud he was that Bramhall high school provided a true, comprehensive education, where students’ skills, passions and talents would be catered for and everyone was given the chance to succeed. A new school would allow this to continue and enhance the fantastic offer that is already available, but sadly the Government have blocked Bramhall high school from receiving a full and complete rebuild, despite it being completely within the budget.

I would like to set out in detail the problems that Bramhall high school faces and the disappointing experience that the school has had with the school rebuilding programme. The school’s buildings suffer from many significant design flaws and large parts cannot be used due to the risks of RAAC—reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. John Peckham, an ex-headteacher of the school who now works for School Improvers UK, says that it currently rates as the least inspiring education building in the country. He says that the design of the estate is poor and that repairing and refurbishing it simply would not help. John wrote to me to say that generations of children have been deprived of the opportunities and inspiration that can be promoted through good school design, and that the day-to-day lives of teachers were much more difficult as a result.

The block with RAAC is over 60 years old and was last significantly invested in by Cheshire county council in 1974. The other block is ageing rapidly: built in the early 2000s, it will soon need serious investment and, as I mentioned previously, has no running water, kitchen or toilet facilities. Money has been spent on rewiring, new heating, asbestos removal and disability access, but none of those have addressed the fundamental issues that the school faces. A rebuild is more than 30 years overdue. We should not be at this point, the teachers should not be at this point and the pupils in the building should not be at this point.

The school eagerly completed the school-specific brief and associated work under the assumption that it would get a complete re-build due to the state of the whole school site. The appointed contractor agreed that a complete rebuild would meet the criteria of the school-specific brief and also meet the school’s vision, all within the budget that was set. The contractor also emphasised reservations about a partial rebuild. But sadly, the Government have pushed for the partial rebuild, despite the evidence, specialist advice and budget showing that a full rebuild was the most sensible option. The leadership team and governors at Bramhall high school are dismayed and disappointed, and so am I. The partial rebuild does not meet the requirements of Bramhall high school-specific brief, it fails to meet the school’s vision and will not meet the school’s requirements or needs in the long term.

Throughout the process, Bramhall high school was consistently told that funding would not be the main driver of the project. It was told that the project would be based on the needs of the school, its teachers and students, but clearly that is not the case and funding is indeed the main driver behind the Government’s decision. I ask the Minister: if effective use of the public purse is a driver behind the programme, why refrain from a full rebuild when it will make the estate more sustainable, help the school evolve to meet future challenges, create an estate that can last for decades and save costs going forward? A partial rebuild will cost the public purse more in the long term as it will end up being a sticking plaster, covering up cracks that really need to be filled in.

The Government have a real opportunity to showcase how targeted, sensible capital investment can save money in the long term while achieving incredible results for our young people. They need to take this opportunity, but instead they have chosen minimal savings and a bigger cost down the line. That is short-sighted and will not achieve the goals of the rebuild programme.

Another issue with the partial rebuild is that it will leave one block standing—the block without running water. Despite investment going into the school site, we will end up with one new, fresh block fit for the modern world next to a block that is falling apart and unable to function. It will leave parents wondering why only half the school can be given the best chance. When parents see the plans, they will be disappointed.

It is not just the buildings that are the issue. We now know that the Government will not provide essential equipment such as new technology, desks and chairs, despite the allocated budget allowing for that. Bramhall high school will have to make up the shortfall of £650,000, and that does not include costs such as CCTV and other infrastructure. All Members across this House know that schools are operating on extremely tight margins with no surplus, and we all know that years and years of under-investment from the last Government has led to that.

Mr Williams told me that he has to think carefully about replacing staff if they leave while also making cuts to department budgets to ensure that they still function, as with so many other schools. How is the school then supposed to pay more than £500,000 for desks, chairs and teaching equipment? The school has no choice but to appeal to the community for help. We find ourselves in a position where, despite the promises of a new school and the opportunities it would bring, Bramhall high school is having to go cap in hand to businesses and residents to source money so that pupils can have a seat. That is ludicrous.

The root cause of the problem is a lack of long-term thinking, planning and investment. The previous Government oversaw a 48% decline in capital spending for education, and the National Audit Office reported that, as of October 2024, there is a £13.8 billion maintenance backlog in English schools. That is a really dire picture.

The Government are showing a lack of ambition. We should be celebrating the plans that saw a full rebuild of this magnificent school, met the brief and, importantly, came within budget, but instead we find ourselves demoralised and trying to solve problems that did not exist until the Government made the wrong decision. That really leaves a bitter taste. The school and I are saddened and deeply disappointed by the Government’s position.

Bramhall high school had hoped that being part of this new approach to rebuilding schools would set it up for the next 60 years at least. The headteacher told me that this is about the message sent to teachers—those who must deal with a declining block and adjust their lessons accordingly while looking out the window at a better block, unsure of why only half the school deserved better. When I spoke to him before writing this speech, he said that he would like to ask the Minister, “Are you really, truly trying to rebuild our schools?” We need a Government who plan for the future—for 20, 30 and even 40 years down the line. As the Chancellor stated last June, this is about showing children that their education matters and their future matters.

Changes in policy and legislation also need to be accounted for. The Government’s proposed special educational needs and disabilities reforms ask mainstream schools to do more, but if they are not given the investment to create more space and resources, that simply cannot happen. For example, Bramhall high school is having to fund a SEND room for students, which will cost around £75,000, but it wants to do that to meet the educational needs of its students, now and in the future. That is a challenge it willingly accepts.

At the beginning of this speech, I talked about how proud the teachers are of the curriculum they offer. They want to provide classes and experiences for children of all passions and skills, and that includes technology, design, drama and music—the subjects that create a fully rounded education. Any new build needs to have that at its very core. On top of that, any new school design must keep pace with new policies and legislation. Phone-free schools mean that there must be phone storage on site.

It feels like the Department for Education is not in lockstep with the school and that this rebuild is being done to the team at Bramhall high school, not with them. That is a real shame and a missed opportunity. The potential benefits are never-ending; there is no shortage of research to confirm that investing in children’s schooling and education makes a better future for all. The Institute for Fiscal Studies reported that school spending can increase test scores and positive outcomes in the long run.

I believe it is not too late for Bramhall high school; I believe that the Department has the chance at this moment to reconsider. It is not too late to give Bramhall high school the full rebuild it needs. The case is clear, and we know that the budget is there.

If the Minister cannot agree to reconsider the decision today, I have three asks on behalf of Bramhall high school and schools across the country. Will he commit to improving the school rebuilding programme, to ensure that decisions are made hand in hand with schools and are not done to them, as seems to have happened with Bramhall high school? Will he update building regulations and design so that they keep pace with recent policy changes while ensuring that facilities match the vision and aims of the school? Finally, will he meet me and the school’s leadership team to discuss financial support for Bramhall high school in meeting the shortfall of equipment needed in the proposed new block and to hear at first hand their experiences of dealing with the programme? I look forward to the Minister’s response.

Care Leavers

Tom Morrison Excerpts

Monday 3rd November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Josh MacAlister]

I am in the unusual position of having been commissioned to do a review for a Government, and of then being in a position to start implementing its findings. One of the things I called for was additional spending to help local authorities that are in exactly the situation that my hon. Friend described get out of that vortex with additional spending, and that is what this Government are doing.

[Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)]

One of my constituents came to my surgery to talk about her experience of being a care leaver. We discussed making care-experienced children a protected characteristic, and the discrimination that she felt in the education system. On local authorities, should we not do more to ensure that schools and colleges have the tools needed to educate our young people about the difficulties that people go through in the care system, so that discrimination is eradicated?

[Josh MacAlister]

I completely agree. I first came across these issues as a secondary school teacher, and I see fully the impact that teachers, schools, colleges, and universities can have when these issues are spotted in the classroom and acted on. We absolutely should do more on that.

I conclude by celebrating the extraordinary people who make up the care-experienced community in England. When I meet people who have grown up in care, I always sense a remarkable determination, and the special perspective that they have on humanity and relationships. It is often called a superpower by others, and we should do as much as we can as a country to tap into the incredible talents of that community—talents such as those of Tony Simpson, partner at Oliver Wyman; Meera Mistry, director of strategy at an NHS trust; Allan Jenkins, the award-winning former editor of The Observer “Food Monthly”; Ivor Frank, a barrister at Church Court Chambers; Jack Holton, a baritone opera singer; Lemn Sissay, author, poet, and former chancellor of Manchester University; Samantha Morton, Oscar-nominated BAFTA-winning actress; Kriss Akabusi; Fatima Whitbread; the noble Baroness Lola Young; the noble Baroness Floella Benjamin; and AJ, a young care-experienced person from Coventry whom I had the pleasure of meeting a few weeks ago. He is embarking on his first few months of adulthood with the support of his grandfather, who the care system managed to find and reconnect him with. He has a bright future ahead of him.

I will close with the words of Richard Henry Tawney:

“What a wise parent would wish for their children, so the state must wish for all its children.”

That is the spirit in which we should change the care system. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central for securing this important debate. We must all get to work for those in and leaving care.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Morrison Excerpts

Monday 20th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for drawing attention to the fantastic Labour policies that this Government are rolling out.

We are expanding free school meals to half a million more children, backed up with an extra £1 billion of funding through the spending review. That is the difference that a Labour Government are making. I am delighted that we now have 750 new free breakfast clubs, and that from April next year another 2,000 will open, reaching half a million more children, lifting children out of poverty and backing families. That is the difference a Labour Government make.

[Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)]

3. What steps her Department is taking to help improve the special educational needs and disabilities system in Cheadle.

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

As part of our plan for change, we are determined to improve the SEND system across the country so that every child has access to the best opportunities. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools through the earlier identification of needs, as well as to ensuring that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

[Mr Morrison]

Paul and Ellie are children with special educational needs in a primary school in Bramhall. Their parents, like many across Cheadle, have reached out to me for help. Their SEND provision has been suddenly taken away. Paul and Ellie’s parents are now considering withdrawing them from mainstream schooling. Parentkind research shows that more than one in three parents of children with special educational needs say that their needs are not being sufficiently met. Paul and Ellie’s parents deserve much more certainty and clarity, so can the Minister confirm when they will bring forward the schools White Paper and, with it, the crucial information on the SEND reforms for anxious parents?

[Georgia Gould]

I have heard so many stories like Paul and Ellie’s, and I am so sorry about the experiences they have had. That is why it is so important that we are already taking action to invest in mainstream inclusion, to improve teacher training and to support early identification, and it is why we are investing £740 million to support schools to provide more specialist places. We are already taking that action, and we are working very closely with parents around the country, like Paul and Ellie’s, to bring forward a wider set of reforms.

Early Education and Childcare

Tom Morrison Excerpts

Thursday 4th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

I know that my hon. Friend is really passionate about these issues and wanting to make life so much easier for families in her constituency. School-based nurseries will help drive quality in early education and ensure good-quality access for parents. I mentioned the double drop-off that many parents face; accessing a school-based nursery and then dropping off their older child at primary school is a much simpler and more convenient approach. I am very happy to follow up on my hon. Friend’s points to ensure that this scheme is a success in her constituency.

[Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)]

I thank the Minister for the way in which he has engaged with my constituents John and Katie, who are running a campaign to make our nurseries safer following the tragic death of their daughter Gigi. A key part of that campaign is introducing safer sleeping guidance in our nurseries, and I understand that the Government are considering plans to update the early years framework on that. Can the Minister give me an idea of the timeline by which those plans will come before Parliament? It is vital that we make our nurseries safer with that safe sleeping guidance.

[Stephen Morgan]

I thank the hon. Member for his question and for his engagement on these extremely important issues. I pay tribute to the family he represents. I have met with them personally to understand the changes they are keen to see. The safety of our youngest children is of the utmost importance to my Department. I am keen to continue to engage with the hon. Member as we hear the family’s concerns and bring about the change that they expect.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Morrison Excerpts

Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)]

This Government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school so that every young person has access to early support, including those who are neurodivergent. NHS-funded mental health support teams will continue to roll out across schools and are expected to cover at least 50% of pupils this year.

[Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)]

T4.   The Secretary of State may be aware of the tragic death of Genevieve Meehan, who died in a nursery in Cheadle. She was just nine months old. Despite claims that the nursery was safe, Gigi’s death was entirely preventable. Gigi’s parents, John and Katie, are now campaigning for changes in the law around nursery safety. Will the Secretary of State meet me, Gigi’s parents and the Lullaby Trust to talk through this campaign and commit to helping to ensure that this tragic story is never repeated?

[Stephen Morgan]

Every incident of harm of a child, including this tragic case, is incredibly distressing. I am committed to doing everything possible to reduce levels of harm as part of our mission to give every child the best start in life. I would of course welcome a meeting with the hon. Member and Gigi’s parents.