FORMER Education Secretary Kit Malthouse has said that any cuts to school budgets in next week’s Autumn Statement would be a “disaster” for the country.
Speaking exclusively to GB News he said: “Well, it’s certainly the case that things are very tight at education. And schools are already struggling with the rise in energy costs, general inflation and cost of living. And of course, a 5% pay rise, which was given to teachers last year, not all of which was included in their budget settlement.
“So it is very tough and I have to say, I’ve seen some quite alarming stuff in the papers over the last couple of days where they are indicating that there might be cuts to the education budget. As far as I can see, I can’t see how that can be acceptable.
“Typically, when you bear in mind that during the pandemic, it was children and their education that was most significantly damaged, and we’re just in the middle of kind of catch up, teachers across the country are working really hard to get kids back up to speed, performance having dipped naturally during the pandemic.
“To disturb that dynamic, just as this generation is getting back on their feet, would seem to me a really, really, unacceptable thing to do.”
In an interview with Esther McVey and Philip Davies on GB News, Mr Malthouse added: “Definitely, pre the inflation and pre the war in Ukraine, education had a good settlement, it actually did, four billion quid going in.
“But since then, obviously, we’ve seen significantly rising costs. I know, certainly from my time at DfE, that head teachers across the land, not just the people who normally complain about money, but you know, people really at the top of their game, and now looking forward to next year to their budgets are saying, ‘can we manage with the same number of staff?’
“Are we going to have to reduce headcount? If we reduce headcount, what impact is that going to have on the quality of education?”
He told GB News: “ Now, when you make cuts, like Jeremy is going to have to make, and don’t get me wrong, I agree with fiscal responsibility, I think we have to look at our spending.
“We’ve definitely been spending beyond our means over the last few years, you have to do that within a framework of priorities, you have to say, look, there are some areas that we have to protect because they’re so important and so vital, that we’ve got to stand by them even in times of financial difficulty.
“And for me, the number one should be schools and our children’s education, because if we don’t get that right, there will be a disaster not just for them personally, but for the whole country down the road as they move through the education system and into the job market.
“So I would be putting your schools and education front and centre as an area where if anything, we should be investing, not necessarily cutting.”
