Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the additional costs incurred by (a) each school in the Witham constituency and (b) across Essex, as a result of the increase in employers' National Insurance Contributions in (i) 2025/26 and (ii) 2026/27.

School funding has increased by £3.7 billion in financial year 2025/26, meaning that core school budgets total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This includes almost £1 billion in additional funding being provided to support schools and high needs settings, with the increases to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from April 2025.

Our funding system is not designed so that every school and college receives funding that fully matches their precise spending, as this, including the NICs costs, varies from institution to institution because of the decisions each takes on its staffing.

Through the dedicated schools grant, Essex, which allocates funding for Witham, is receiving £1.3 billion for mainstream schools in 2025/26. Essex will receive £6,128 per pupil on average, excluding growth and falling rolls funding.