North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has welcomed the news that campaigners from the “School Cuts” campaign have finally accepted that they were wrong to claim funding for schools in Swindon will fall.
The group’s misleading claims to parents & pupils had suggested that the Government would not protect the schools budget in real terms in 2018-19 and 2019-20 - a claim independent think tanks including the Institute for Fiscal Studies were clear was wrong.
However the group, backed by the National Education Union and leadership unions ASCL & NAHT was forced to admit yesterday that it had missed £450 million of funding from its calculations – money which when factored in confirmed per-pupil funding would rise.
Campaigners admitted that the money “should have been included in our most recent calculations” to allow people to accurately compare like-for-like. Their revised calculations show school funding per-pupil will increase in real terms.
The funding for schools in England is at record high this year of almost £43 billion. From September, education providers in Swindon will receive a total of over £161 million of core funding, plus an additional £9.1 million of Pupil Premium support to assist children.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “I am pleased that the School Cuts campaign has finally admitted it was wrong and that school funding in Swindon & across England is increasing. The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has been clear: we have protected the core schools budget in real terms since 2010, and our additional £1.3 billion investment this year means we are maintaining per pupil funding in real terms through to 2020. We invest more in our schools, per pupil, than either Germany or Japan, and real terms school spending per pupil in 2019–20 will be more than 50% higher than it was in 2000–01.”
