Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Monday 30th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) (Con)]

2. What progress she has made on introducing a national funding formula for schools.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

3. What plans the Government have to deliver fairer funding for schools.

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

7. What plans the Government have to deliver fairer funding for schools.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nicky Morgan]

My hon. Friend is right; we need to move as quickly as possible to ensure that low-funded areas such as his constituency of Tewkesbury are funded fairly and transparently. We have taken the first step by increasing Gloucestershire’s schools budget by £12 million and protecting that amount, and we will now go further by introducing a national funding formula while ensuring that the pace of change provides security for schools and local authorities.

[Peter Aldous]

As Suffolk’s schools have suffered from underfunding for many years, last week’s announcement was extremely welcome. Time is of the essence in addressing this iniquity. The Secretary of State has said she will start work straight after Christmas, but I would be grateful if she went into a little more detail about the first steps she will be taking.

[Nicky Morgan]

I wish to thank my hon. Friend, who made a very valuable contribution to the recent petition to the Prime Minister calling for urgent action on fairer funding. I intend to consult in the new year, but I assure my hon. Friend that much work has been going on already, led by the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Mr Gyimah), to unpick the funding formula so that all schools are funded fairly and all pupils have access to a good education.