SCHOOLS and colleges in Worcestershire will be more than £30million better off if the Liberal Democrats win the General Election, the party’s Worcester candidate has claimed.
The party has revealed plans to invest £6.9billion in schools in England over the next Parliament, £30,637,922 of which will be used to ‘reverse cuts’ to school funding in the county.
Stephen Kearney, the Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Worcester, said the proposals will ‘ensure no school and no child loses out.’
The £6.9billion cash injection would be used to protect per pupil funding in schools, the pupil premium, further education funding as well as investing in teacher training.
The Liberal Democrats have also said they would axe Theresa May’s plans to open new grammar schools in England.
“Children in Worcester are being taught in overcrowded classes by overworked teachers – but Theresa May doesn’t care,” Mr Kearney said.
“Under the Conservatives, funding per pupil is set to see the biggest cuts in a generation, while billions of pounds are being spent on divisive plans to expand grammars and free schools.
“This extra funding would ensure no school and no child loses out.
“We will reverse crippling Conservative cuts to school budgets and invest to ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed.”
A report by the National Audit Office has found school budgets will be slashed by £3billion in real terms by 2019-20 – the equivalent to cutting spending by eight per cent per pupil under current Conservative Government plans.
In response, Robin Walker, Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Worcester, said:
“I have led a cross party campaign for fairer funding for our schools to close the huge gaps that grew up under Labour between the best and worst funded areas.
“In the last parliament this resulted in £6.7 million extra for Worcestershire schools and it would have been more if Lib Dems in Government had not intervened to keep more money for Lib Dem seats in South West London, and proposals put forward in this one would mean another £9million each and every year.
