Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2016 to Question 56753, what mechanisms the national funding formula will use to account for the cost pressures which schools face.

The Government places a high priority on education, recognising its importance to productivity and social mobility. At the 2015 Spending Review the overall envelope for schools funding to 2019-20 was set, taking into account anticipated new costs on schools. At the Spending Review, the core schools budget[1] was protected in real terms - as a result, throughout this Parliament, the money available for our schools will increase as pupil numbers rise.

The new, fairer National Funding Formula will ensure that the resources allocated at the Spending Review is distributed fairly, consistently and transparently across the country to match school and pupil need. This will end the current system where pupils and schools in identical circumstances attract differing funding levels due to where they live.

We are also committed to providing support for schools to make the most of their money. In January, we published a wide range of tools and support available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency, and we recently launched a school buying strategy to support schools to save over £1bn a year by 2019-20 on their non-staff spend.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-and-autumn-statement-2015-documents