The core schools budget will increase by £2.3 billion next year to “support” the government’s pledge to hire thousands more teachers.
The chancellor Rachel Reeves also announced during her budget speech today that she was providing a £1 billion uplift in funding to support work to reform the system for pupils with special educational needs.
However, budget documents reveal that £1 billion will come from the overall £2.3 billion increase in school spending.
Employers’ national insurance contributions are increasing by 1.2 percentage points as part of a £40 billion package of tax rises.
The Treasury has said the Department for Education will get some money to help schools cover their costs, but won’t confirm how much until the spring.
In her budget address, Reeves said: “I am increasing the core schools budget by £2.3 billion next year to support our pledge to hire thousands more teachers into key subjects.”
Treasury documents claim this will “increase per pupil funding in real-terms”.
£1bn for SEND comes from £2.3bn schools cash
Reeves added that the government “is committed to reforming special educational needs provision.
“To improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children and to ensure that the system is financially sustainable. To support that work, I am today providing a £1 billion uplift in funding. A 6 per cent real-terms increase from this year.”
The £1 billion will come from the overall £2.3 billion school funding uplift, and the government’s own documents suggest most of it will go towards covering SEND deficits.
Jon Andrews, from the Education Policy Institute, warned the £1 billion “represents a quarter of the deficits that the National Audit Office estimates that local authorities have accumulated”.
“Given the perilous state of local authority budgets, clarity on how that funding will be allocated or what it is intended for is now urgently required.
“If the situation for local authorities has not been fundamentally changed, then we still risk services for our most vulnerable being cut.”
More capital funding
Reeves also announced today she was giving the Department for Education £6.7 billion of “capital investment” next year, which she said was a 19 per cent real-terms increase on this year.
This includes £1.4 billion already announced over the weekend to be put towards the existing school rebuilding programme.
And the chancellor pledged £2.1 billion more to improve school maintenance, £300 million more than this year”.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated.
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