Chancellor allocates funding for 'crumbling schools' ahead of budget
Rachel Reeves said children "should not suffer" due to public finances
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has earmarked £1.4 billion worth of funding for "crumbling schools" as part of her first budget.
The Chancellor said that children "should not suffer" due to the lack of public finances, despite the Labour government's attempt to fill the £22 billion "black hole" left by the previous Conservative cabinet.
After announcing the news on Sunday (October 27th), economists said that the money being allocated to education hubs will only keep existing schemes going.
According to the Treasury, the money will "ensure the delivery" of the programme, which will help to continue plans to rebuild and refurbish 500 schools in a decade, which had initially been announced in 2020.
The proposed plans will be an increase of £550 million towards the scheme compared to last year's figures.
The increase in spending was also paired with £1.8 billion also being announced for Government-funded childcare.
It comes as Reeves urged different Government departments to make cutbacks of 2%, which would free up "billions" of pounds that could be used elsewhere.
Speaking about her plans, the Chancellor said: "This Government's first Budget will set out how we will fix the foundations of the country. It will mean tough decisions, but also the start of a new chapter for Britain, by growing our economy through investing in our future to rebuild our schools, hospitals and broken roads.
"Protecting funding for education was one of the things I wanted to do first because our children are the future of this country. We might have inherited a mess, but they should not suffer for it."
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has welcomed the earmarked funding, saying the money will "put education back at the forefront of national life".
However, economist Christine Farquharson from the Institute for Fiscal Studies said the money will not put a full end to the issues in the education system.
"Putting £1.4 billion into the school rebuilding programme next year will be enough to keep what was always intended as a 10-year programme going in its sixth year.
"£1.8 billion for the rollout of new childcare entitlements similarly confirms plans set out under the previous government.
"Bumping up the breakfast club budget to £30 million does seem to be a boost on the previously-announced £7 million - but this is still only a tenth of what the Labour manifesto plans to spend by 2028-29, so the bulk of the rollout lies ahead."
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