Givan urges extra funds for education amid 'considerable shortfall'

Education Minister Paul Givan said he has asked for hundreds of millions of pounds for his department in the June Monitoring Round.

The re-allocation exercise will see the distribution of additional funds understood to total £250 million by Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald.

It comes after a budget which saw all departments complain about the allocation that they had received in what Ms Archibald termed "an incredibly challenging budget".

Speaking during questions for his department in the Assembly on Tuesday, Mr Givan said his department's resource allocation for 2024/25 was "significantly less than what is required and leaves a considerable shortfall across the education sector".

He also warned that without the needed funding, there could be further strike action by education staff.

"Education will require substantially more funding during this budget period if we are to avoid a significant and detrimental impact on our children and young people," he said.

"My department has submitted resource bids totalling £293 million and capital bids totalling £113 million within the June Monitoring Round.

"These pressures include, among other things, additional funding for our schools including a much needed schools maintenance programme, investment in our children and special educational needs, the EA pay and grading review and a teachers pay award for September 2024.

"The inability to fund these pressures in turn could potentially lead to re-intensified industrial action and a return to action short of strike in the autumn which has been crippling to our education system."