Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the increase in school funding in the 2025-26 academic year (a) per pupil, (b) in real terms per pupil based on the GDP deflator and (c) in real terms per pupil based on Retail Price Index inflation, excluding the existing teacher pay award.

At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced an additional £2.3 billion for mainstream schools and young people with high needs for the 2025/26 financial year, compared to the 2024/25 financial year. This means that overall core school funding will total almost £63.9 billion in the 2025/26 financial year.

This provides a cash increase per pupil of 3.9% and an increase in real terms per pupil of 1.5%, as measured by the GDP deflator. The GDP deflator is the standard measure of inflation for public spending and is appropriate for considering school costs. The department does not produce estimates using the Retail Prices Index.