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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 education budget for 2015-16 will "increase to £53bn and school spending will be protected in real terms", the chancellor announced. | |
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. |
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. |
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. | |
"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. | |
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. |