On the Today Programme this morning, IFS figures were cited to
challenge the claims by 7,000 head teachers that school budgets
had been cut.
However, Labour’s analysis of IFS figures shows clearly that the
headteachers are correct, and that annual spending on schools
would be £1.7bn higher in 2019-20 if per pupil funding had been
maintained in real terms since the Tories won a majority in 2015.
This analysis of cuts to annual funding for schools comes after
the Chancellor’s announcement of a one-off fund for schools to
spend on so-called “little extras” in the last Budget.
That funding was for capital funding only, and worth just
over a tenth of the amount already cut from capital funding
overall. Schools will not be permitted to spend it on running
costs like staff pay, and the Chancellor suggested that the
average school could use it for items like a “couple of
whiteboards”.
Commenting, MP, Labour’s Shadow
Secretary of State for Education, said:
“The Tories have slashed school budgets for the first time in a
generation, and there will now be a generation of children paying
the price for austerity.
“Thousands of headteachers have raised their concerns with the
Secretary of State, yet he and his Government have buried their
heads in the sand. The fact is these cuts have consequences, with
a curriculum narrowing and teacher numbers falling.
“Austerity in our schools must end, and the next Labour
government will reverse these cuts, giving our schools the
resources they need and increasing per pupil funding to a record
high.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
A Labour analysis of figures from the Institute for Fiscal
Studies found that school budgets are down £1.7 billion in real
terms compared to 2015.
Sources: Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2018 annual
report on education spending in England, 17th September
2018, https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/13306
For per pupil spending see Figure 3.1 in the accompanying
tables.
For pupil numbers see Figure 1.2 in the accompanying
tables.
(Real terms funding cut calculated as change in per pupil funding
* pupil numbers in primary and secondary).
In his Budget speech, the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave
schools £400 million to fund “little extras.”
“So today I am announced £400m in-year bonus to help our schools
buy the little extras they need.”
HM Treasury, Budget 2018: ’s speech
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/budget-2018-philip-hammonds-speech
The Chancellor’s announcement, and the use of “little extras” to
describe the funding needs of schools, drew significant
criticism.
BBC News, Anger over Chancellor’s £400m ‘little extras’
for schools
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46028757
Evening Standard, faces backlash for saying
schools need ‘little extras’ after huge funding cuts
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/budget-2018-philip-hammond-facing-furious-backlash-for-saying-schools-need-little-extras-after-huge-a3974911.html
A school in the Prime Minister’s own constituency has previously
written to parents asking for donations to buy basic resources
like textbooks, pens, and even toilet roll.
The Sun, School Rip-Off: Parents ‘in tears’ as
cash-strapped primary school begs families to donate toilet
roll
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/uknews/6535747/st-edmund-campion-catholic-primary-school-begs-families-donate-toilet-roll-teaching-material/
Figures from the National Audit Office show that schools have
faced a total cut in their spending power of £2.7 billion since
2015. These cuts fell between 2015-16 and 2017-18, and represent
a cumulative fall in spending. In addition they do not
account for additional funding that has previously been announced
by the government, or the increase in pupil numbers in the years
since additional funding was promised.
See National Audit Office, Financial sustainability of
schools, 14th December 2016
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Financial-sustainability-of-schools.pdf
The BBC cited IFS findings that per pupil spending rose since
2000, which are likely to be sourced from this IFS
report: https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/13306
That same IFS report found that “Total school spending per pupil
has fallen by 8% in real terms between 2009–10 and 2017–18”, with
a particularly notable fall since 2015, while the rises in per
pupil funding happened under Labour governments during the
2000-2010 period. It also noted that in addition to cuts to
primary and secondary education funding, “School sixth forms have
faced budget cuts of 21% per student since their peak in
2010–11”.
