Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

Matthew Pennycook Excerpts
Monday 12th November 2018

(5 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Damian Hinds Portrait Damian Hinds
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We are investing a great deal of capital both on expanding the school estate to create more high-quality places and in terms of its condition. The £400 million for additional small capital projects is on top of the £1.4 billion already allocated.

Matthew Pennycook Portrait Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)
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17. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for maintained nursery schools.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Minister Zahawi.

Nadhim Zahawi Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Nadhim Zahawi)
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Thank you, Mr Speaker—I will clear my throat. Maintained nursery schools support some of our most disadvantaged children, and they do experience higher costs than other providers. We will therefore be providing local authorities with supplementary funding of about £60 million a year up to 2020.

Matthew Pennycook Portrait Matthew Pennycook
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With the two-year transitional funding ending soon and the comprehensive spending review not expected until the summer, maintained nursery schools in my constituency are desperately struggling to plan and budget for the future. Until secure and sustainable funding arrangements are put in place, will the Minister at least commit to further additional transitional funding to protect maintained nurseries across England?

Nadhim Zahawi Portrait Nadhim Zahawi
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The early years national funding formula for Greenwich has increased from £4.86 in 2016-17 to a provisional £6.17 in 2018-19. On top of this, in 2018-19, Greenwich will receive about £690,000 for its three maintained nurseries. My message to all local authorities is: do not do anything premature but wait for the spending review.