The single most important gift that can be given to any child is a good education. Indeed so important is it to our society that we spend £39 billion a year directly in schools.
Education is everything. For a child, it is the way they will get on in life, get a job and enjoy social mobility. For an employer it means that the people they need to work in their businesses have a level of skills that are necessary to build a successful business. And for society as a whole, it means we all enjoy similar skills and customs, share a history that we understand and have similar values. Education is really important.
Key to achieving all this is the need for it to be fair. But in the case or Worcestershire, the funding formula that has been in place for many years is not fair. IN neighbouring Birmingham, the funding formula allocates a child around £1,000 a year more for their education than the formula we have in Worcestershire. Aside from the obvious inequality, it means that it is easier to be a teacher in Birmingham, with more resources, than in Worcestershire. This can lead to teachers choosing to work outside our county (although I would stress that the teachers we have here in Wyre Forest are excellent and dedicated and have stuck with their profession through a wide range of changes and stresses over the last few years). It is because of this inequality that the six MPs here in Worcestershire are doing what we can to redress this unfairness in favour of our school children.
Worcestershire comes around 148th on the list of 156 education authorities across the UK in terms of per pupil funding. This in itself is disappointing, but if the discrepancy between the highest funded and the lowest were much narrower, it would be less of an issue. We are not trying to shift Worcestershire higher up the leagues - just get the difference smaller.
The government recognises the inequality and is certainly working towards a solution. Indeed, we have made some progress with adjustments to the formula. But the over-riding problem is still there and we will continue to work hard in this area to make sure that our children here in Worcestershire get the funding they need for a top education.