Unexpected additional funding for schools

In the Autumn Statement last week Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said schools will get an extra £2.3 billion in 2023-24 and 2024-25, £4.6 billion in total. Only two government departments had their spending increased, education and health.

The announcement means that core schools budget will rise by four per cent in each of the next two years. Whilst we cannot be sure what will happen to staff pay over the period, we do know that the pay rises this year will account for £1.3 billion of the total £2.3 billion increase.

As to the question of whether this is all ‘new’ money, £300 million was already committed to pay for the health and social care levy, which has since been removed, so the Department for Education (DfE) will keep that funding. However, it is being reported that the new money for the DfE is likely to come from recycling £5 billion previously earmarked for increasing overseas aid spending to 0.7% of national income from the current level of 0.5%.