Surrey Lib Dems launch petition to stop local schools losing £37 MILLION by 2020
March 14, 2017 2:59 PM
Originally published by Surrey County Council Lib Dems
Originally published by Surrey County Council Lib Dems
Liberal Democrat county councillors have launched a petition to fight against school funding cuts in Surrey. Recent figures from the National Union of Teachers show that schools in Surrey will lose £37 MILLION in real terms by 2020.
New government estimates obtained by the National Audit Office show that schools in England will have to make cuts of £3 billion by 2020 in order to cope with increased costs. The Government wants over half of these cuts to come from schools' teaching budgets.
Cllr Will Forster, Liberal Democrat county councillor for Woking South, said:
"Current levels of funding in Surrey are not enough if schools are to manage new cost pressures such as increases in National Insurance and a new tax to pay for apprenticeships. In addition, the County Council is being squeezed by the Conservative Government's 75% cut in the funding it uses to support school improvements and provide local schools with music lessons, ICT equipment and accounting advice"
"Schools across the county are considering drastic cost-cutting proposals, including increasing class sizes and reducing the number of teachers and teaching assistants. This is why I am launching a petition calling for the Government to increase funding for Surrey schools to protect them from the need to make damaging cuts in the face of reduced funding and increasing costs over the next three years. You can sign the petition at: https://surreylibdems.org.uk/en/petition/stop-school-cuts-in-surrey
NOTES
Statistics on the loss of funding for schools in Surrey can be found here:
Cllr Forster has submitted the following motion to Council on 21st March 2017:
This Council:
recognises that the financial outlook for Surrey schools is likely to deteriorate as cost pressures increase;
regrets the phasing out of the Education Services Grant and its impact on schools and the council;
calls upon HM Government to increase the schools budget in order to prevent a serious detrimental impact on class sizes, support for pupils with special needs or valuable extra-curricular activities;
asks the Leader of the Council to write to all Surrey MPs, urging them to raise the council's concerns with the Secretary of State for Education.
