The UK’s Department for Education has acknowledged a funding plan miscalculation and ordered an inquiry after issuing an apology. The error stemmed from an underestimation of the number of pupils, causing a revision in the proposed increase in funding per pupil from 2.7% to 1.9%, as reported by the BBC.
This development may require schools to reevaluate their budgets, as they were provided with funding estimates for the 2024/25 academic year in July based on a national formula that allocates the £59.6 billion school budget. However, an update published on Friday (Oct 6) revealed an admission that the original plan had incorrectly estimated the number of students.
Susan Acland-Hood, the top civil servant at the Department of Education, sent a letter to the education select committee, assuring them that school budgets would not be reduced. However, she emphasized that the promised funds to schools needed to be recalculated due to an error made during the initial calculations by department officials.
The previously planned increase of 2.7% per pupil would have resulted in an additional expenditure of £370 million for the government. Geoff Burton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, described the error as “extremely unfortunate and frustrating.”
The Labour Party seized upon the education department’s mistake, with shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson characterizing it as “yet more Conservative-made chaos.” The teachers’ union also criticized the government for “not paying attention to the crisis in education,” adding that headteachers had already planned their budgets with the expected funds.
On Saturday (Oct 7), the Labour Party held its annual conference in Liverpool, where Labour leader Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner received enthusiastic support from waiting supporters. Current polls indicate a favorable position for the Labour Party, with a 20-point lead over UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.
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