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School spending stays protected from budget cuts School spending stays protected from budget cuts
(35 minutes later)
The schools budget for England will remain protected from budget cuts in the government's spending review.The schools budget for England will remain protected from budget cuts in the government's spending review.
Chancellor George Osborne also announced plans for a fairer funding formula for schools to remove inequalities between different areas.Chancellor George Osborne also announced plans for a fairer funding formula for schools to remove inequalities between different areas.
There will be funding for 180 more free schools and 20 university technical colleges and 20 studio schools.There will be funding for 180 more free schools and 20 university technical colleges and 20 studio schools.
Mr Osborne told MPs that spending on education was the "single best investment".Mr Osborne told MPs that spending on education was the "single best investment".
The proposal for a national funding formula will address the way that money is not "equally distributed" between schools, the Chancellor told the House of Commons. The education budget for 2015-16 will "increase to £53bn and school spending will be protected in real terms", the chancellor announced.
He announced extra support for the creation of more free schools in 2015-16, which are set up by parents or other groups. Funding formula
Mr Osborne promised that a consultation would begin for a national funding formula to address the way that money is not "equally distributed" between schools, the chancellor told the House of Commons.
He announced extra support for the creation of 180 more free schools in 2015-16, which are set up by parents or other groups. There are already more than 80 open with a further 200 in the pipeline.
There will also be 20 more studio schools which young people can attend part-time while working.There will also be 20 more studio schools which young people can attend part-time while working.
There will be 20 more university technical colleges which are intended to provide a stronger vocational education.There will be 20 more university technical colleges which are intended to provide a stronger vocational education.
Mr Osborne's spending cuts include an end to annual progression payments in the public sector, a move that had already been announced for teachers. The protection of the school budget was welcomed by head teachers' leader Russell Hobby.
He also supported plans for a fairer national funding formula, saying that "budgets can differ by thousands of pounds per pupil for no good reason".
But Mr Hobby, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, was critical of extra spending on free schools, describing it as an "inefficient use of a limited capital budget" when there was such a pressure to create more primary school places.
Mr Osborne's package of spending cuts include an end to annual progression payments in the public sector, a move that had already been announced for teachers.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, responsible for universities, will face a 6% cut, including savings on student maintenance grants.The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, responsible for universities, will face a 6% cut, including savings on student maintenance grants.
Mr Osborne promised a greater commitment to science and research, saying that previous governments had put "short-term pressures over long-term needs".Mr Osborne promised a greater commitment to science and research, saying that previous governments had put "short-term pressures over long-term needs".
He commended developments such as synthetic biology and graphene and announced a 9% increase in capital investment in science.He commended developments such as synthetic biology and graphene and announced a 9% increase in capital investment in science.
The ring fence of school spending was challenged by Sir David Bell, vice chancellor of Reading University and former permanent secretary at the Department for Education. There were warnings from the Local Government Association that cuts to local authority budgets would "stretch essential services to breaking point in many areas", including for schools.
School funding "ought to have been exposed to the same scrutiny as other aspects of government spending," said Sir David. "Services such as culture and leisure facilities, school support, road maintenance and growth related programmes will bear the brunt of these cuts," said the LGA's chairman, Sir Merrick Cockell.
"Schools have received significant increases in funding since 2001 and, indeed, were afforded considerable protection in the 2010 spending review.... At the very least, the question should be asked whether such a cushion should continue beyond 2016." But the ring-fenced protection of school spending was challenged by Sir David Bell, vice chancellor of Reading University and former permanent secretary at the Department for Education.
School funding "ought to have been exposed to the same scrutiny as other aspects of government spending", said Sir David.