Staffordshire schools set to receive a £19.5m cut to spending power

Data from the National Education Union (NEU) reveals that Schools in Staffordshire are set to be hit with a £19.5 m cut to spending power in 2024/25.

It means that funding per pupil here will be cut by £172 in 2024/25 compared with 2023/24. 

There are 370 schools in Staffordshire 340 of which will have less spending power in 2024/25 as a result of these funding cuts.

For Primary schools in Staffordshire, there will be a £151 reduction in spending power per pupil over the next financial year, and in Secondary schools there will be a £217 fall in spending power per pupil.

Staffordshire’s Liberal Democrats have warned that the fall in spending power will push already stretched school budgets to the brink, with a worse educational experience for pupils and worse outcomes.

It comes as new data released today shows that this Conservative Government has cut the annual growth in funding in cash terms from 8% in 2023/4 to 3.1% in 2024/5. 

The Lib Dems are calling for the Government to review school funding after the IFS has concluded that the purchasing power of school budgets in 2024 will still be about 4% lower than in 2010.

Investing in education is investing in our future but this Conservative government has let school buildings crumble and overseen a severe shortage of teachers. Far from preparing the next generation for the future, Ministers have totally abandoned them.

The Liberal Democrats know that investment in education boosts our children’s futures.