Mark Garnier has welcomed the news that the Government has announced an extra £2.35 billion to create more school places.
This is in addition to the £5 billion that is already being spent in this parliament. This means that between 2014 and 2017 schools in Worcestershire will receive £19,969,474 in order to create new school places. This is part of the Government’s long-term plan to give every young person the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
It is the first time that councils have had 3-year allocations of funding to spend on school places, so Worcestershire County Council can plan ahead and ensure every child has a school place. This Government has already created 260,000 new school places and this announcement means thousands more are on the way.
Mark Garnier MP commented:
‘This is part of the Government’s long-term plan to create an education system that gives young people the skills they need to get on in life and have a more secure and better future. Importantly, the recent PISA rankings remind us that we are engaged in a global education challenge and we need to be winning the global education race. Reforming and investing in education is critical to our country’s economic wellbeing and future.
‘This funding is welcome for Wyre Forest. The fiscal legacy inherited from the previous Labour government meant many rebuild plans locally had to be shelved. Schools locally suffered from the empty promises of the previous government. It is important for schools to be able to put expansion plans into place.
‘However, whilst this addresses the capital required to deliver more places, MPs in Worcestershire are still working hard t redress the steep inequality that means per pupil annual funding is significantly lower than other, neighbouring areas. It is vital that the depth of inequality is reduced.’