NEU comments on Hunt's speech today

Commenting on the Chancellor’s speech today in which he talked about the Government’s record on education, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:   

“The Chancellor talked today about education being one of the pillars of a modern economy. It is hard to disagree with this but the Government need to wake up to the very shaky foundations that they have built after 13 years in power.   

“The Chancellor was correct to say that our teachers rank amongst the best in the world. He was silent though on the fact that the Government have repeatedly missed their teacher recruitment targets and that a third of the teachers who qualified in the last decade have quit. Ministers need to get a grip of the recruitment and retention crisis in education. They could start by giving the fully funded, above inflation pay rise that is needed to keep teachers and support staff in the classroom.   

“Rishi Sunak when he was Chancellor famously said that the Government had 'maxed out' on education recovery spending. The Government shamefully put in only a third of the investment recommended by their own education recovery tsar. These actions speak louder than the empty words we have heard this morning.”