Core School Budget Allocations Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Core School Budget Allocations

Tony Lloyd Excerpts
Tuesday 17th October 2023

(6 months, 2 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Nick Gibb Portrait Nick Gibb
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I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for the great work that she did as children’s Minister in the Department for Education. She is right that the proportion of schools judged good or outstanding has increased. In 2010, it was 68%, and today that figure is 88%. We are not happy with that—our focus is on the remaining 12%. Every local school in our country should be a good or outstanding school.

My right hon. Friend makes an important point about education, health and care plans. She is right that the funding of the high needs budget has increased considerably over the past few years, and I will raise the issue of the backlog in EHCPs with my hon. Friend the children’s Minister. I should say that we are building significant numbers of new free special schools, so that there are more places available for children with severe special educational needs.

Tony Lloyd Portrait Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)
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We know that a child growing up in an area of deprivation is on average likely to do less well through our school system. I take the point that the Minister made about extra funding for deprivation, but will he accept from me that we know that money makes a difference? When will this Government get a grip on the problem of deprivation?