, Leader of the , will today outline Labour’s
transformational plan to invest in a National Education Service
to ensure no one is held back and create a more skilled workforce
and productive economy.
Labour’s plan to increase schools funding and introduce free,
lifelong education in colleges is at the heart of its commitment
to create a society run for the many not the few.
Jeremy will be joined by , Shadow Education Secretary,
and , Shadow Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, at a college in Leeds
on Wednesday to announce the details of the plan.
Labour’s key pledges are:
- Stop the cuts to school budgets with a real terms increase in
funding
- Reduce class sizes to under 30 for all five, six and seven
year olds
- Free school meals for all primary school children
- Restore education maintenance allowance for college students
- Restore student grants for university students
- Scrap fees on courses for adult learners looking to re-train
or upskill
The plans will be funded from the £20 billion that will be raised
by reversing the Conservative Party’s cuts to corporation tax.
Labour has previously announced extending free school meals to
all primary age children will be funded by levying VAT on private
school fees.
said:
“People of all ages are being held back by a lack of funding for
education, and this in turn is holding back the economy by
depriving industry of the untapped talent of thousands of people.
“The Conservatives have spent seven years starving schools of
funding, meaning headteachers are having to send begging letters
to parents to ask for money. They have also cut support for
students and forced colleges to increase fees. It’s created a
downward spiral that is bad for the people being held back and
bad for the economy.
“Labour will do things differently. Our new National Education
Service will transform our schools and education system to ensure
a future for the many not the few. We will reverse the
Conservatives’ tax giveaways to big business and put money back
where it belongs, in our schools, our colleges and our
communities.”
said:
“Our plans for a new National Education Service show there is a
clear choice at this election. Between the Tories who have broken
their promises to parents and children, or a Labour party with a
real plan for education for the many not the few.
“We will invest in schools and in our young people, ensuring no
primary pupils go hungry during the day, reducing class sizes so
children can learn and teachers can teach, and restoring the
maintenance allowance and grants for students in both further and
higher education.”
Ends
Notes to editors:
- Stop the cuts to school budgets with a real terms increase in
funding
- Labour will ensure all schools have the funding they need,
estimated to cost £5.66 billion across the UK by the end of the
parliament, including £4.8 billion for English schools
- We estimate that preventing any losses under the proposed
national funding formula in every year after the first will
cost around £335 million
- Reduce class sizes to under 30 for all five, six and seven
year olds
- £8 billion capital investment to ensure schools have the
number of places they need and £13 billion to ensure that
school buildings are up to standard
- Free school meals for all primary school children
- House of Commons Library research says extending free
school meals for all primary children would cost £700-£900
million, paid for by VAT on private schools
- Restore education maintenance allowance for college students
- Assuming the same proportion of 16-18 year olds qualify for
EMA as previously the cost would be £582 million a year
- Restore student grants for university students
- Total spend on maintenance grants in 2015/16 was £1.57
billion. If this is uprated in line with CPI inflation then the
cost next year is £1.63 billion, rising to £1.8 billion by the
end of the parliament
- Scrap fees on courses for adult learners looking to re-train
or upskill
- Increase the adult skills budget to £1.5 billion by the end
of the parliament in order to abolish upfront fees and increase
course funding by an average of 10 per cent year on year.
Corporation tax
- From next tax year, the headline rate of corporation tax will
rise from its current 19 per cent to 21 per cent in 2018-19, 24
per cent in 2019-20 and 26 per cent in 2020-21. This will still
leave it at the lowest rate in the G7. The small profits rate,
payable by firms with profits below £300,000, will rise less
sharply to 20 per cent in 2018-19 and 21 per cent in 2020-21
- According to Treasury and Office for Budget Responsibility
figures, the Tories’ tax giveaways are costing the exchequer £65
billion over the four years from 2018-19 to 2021-22, including
£19.5 billion in the last year of the parliament. This contrasts
with £46 billion based on the forecasts when the cuts were
introduced
