Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the 2018-19 local government pay offer on school finances.

Support staff pay is negotiated by local authorities and academies. We are aware of the offer and will continue to support schools in managing their budgets.

The new National Funding Formula, backed by £1.3 billion of additional investment, will allocate, as a minimum, £3,500 per pupil for all primary schools, and £4,800 per pupil for all secondary schools, by 2019-20. As the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has confirmed, overall schools funding is being protected at a national level in real terms per pupil over the next two years. Alongside this substantial investment, we are committed to helping schools to improve their efficiency, so that they can continue to improve pupil outcomes and promote social mobility.