Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason schools in Yorkshire and Humber receive lower average funding per pupil than schools in London.

This Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all pupils and has provided significant funding for education to achieve that.

The National Funding Formula (NFF) continues to distribute funding fairly, based on the needs of schools and their pupil cohorts. In 2023/24, over 90% of the schools NFF is distributed on a per pupil basis, based on pupil numbers and pupil characteristics. 75.5% of the schools NFF has been allocated through basic entitlement funding, which every pupil attracts, regardless of their location or circumstances, and a further 17.4% (£7.2 billion) has been allocated through additional needs factors based on pupils’ level of deprivation, low prior attainment, English as an additional language, and mobility.

The purpose of the NFF is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that schools with more pupils with additional needs receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils.

Differing levels of additional needs is one part of the reason why funding is not distributed identically across the country. In addition, schools in more expensive areas, like London, attract higher per pupil funding than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.

The Department will continue to fund schools through the NFF in a fair and transparent manner, on a consistent assessment of need based on pupil numbers and characteristics.