Education's annual budget has been increased by an average six per cent between 2002 and 2006, boosting spending by £12 billion to £57.8 billion.

Brown's generosity will give every secondary school £165,000, primary schools £50,000 and struggling schools a £125,000 top up.

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gerald Imison, deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, told ePolitix.com: "The Association of Teachers and Lecturers is pleased that education is still this government's top priority. Well-resourced education is critical for economic success. But we would remind the chancellor that education is not just about employability, it is also about creating fulfilled individuals.

"This money must be used where it will make a real impact on children. It will be of no benefit if it is swallowed up in local authority bureaucracy. It must be real money for real improvement.

"The government has accepted that every day teachers face an overwhelming workload. The DfES has now been given the funds to deal urgently with the problem. Teachers want to see a real difference to their working lives next term. The Chancellor has today delivered on his part of the deal; therefore there can be no excuses from the Education Secretary. We await the response to the STRB report in September with keen interest. This will be a test of DfES' commitment."

Forum Response: Professional Association of Teachers

Jean Gemmell, general secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers, told ePolitix.com: "Such a substantial investment is clearly welcome, but I do not think that it will be enough to tackle all the problems schools face, such as recruitment and retention of teachers, lack of resources, outdated equipment and buildings, and disruptive behaviour from some pupils and parents.

"This money will only help if schools can recruit - and retain - the well trained and motivated teachers, teaching assistants and support staff they need. Many support staff are particularly poorly paid, as MPs recognised recently.

Forum Response: National Union of Teachers

Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the NUT, told ePolitix.com: "The headline increase is a much needed and substantial improvement in spending for education and a win for the education secretary. But we must wait for the small print before celebrating. It is necessary to establish whether some of this money has previously been announced and is thus already committed.

"The government has led teachers to believe that the solution to the workload problems was dependent on a substantial increase for education in this review. If this increase results in an improved contract which protects teachers from excessive workload and supports their teaching, teachers will re-commit themselves to teaching with enthusiasm.

"If it fails to meet their expectations, then more teachers will leave and fewer young people will enter the profession.

"Government reforms must be focused on teaching and learning in the classroom and be supported by teachers. It must realise that imposed reform has diminishing returns."

Forum Response: Association of University Teachers

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the AUT, told ePolitix.com: "The 6 per cent increase in education funding should be applauded as an investment in this country's future.

"Top of the list has to be funding for improved levels of university pay. Otherwise the government's targets for higher education will be in jeopardy - you can't have excellence in teaching, research and broadening access without having motivated staff in place to deliver them."

Forum Response: Universities UK

Diana Warwick, chief executive of Universities UK, told ePolitix.com: "Our £9.94bn submission was not a wish list - universities need to know that their funding needs will be met to meet the government's own targets.

"The chancellor's comment that children can't be equipped for the 21st century in out of date classrooms applies equally to higher education."

Forum Response: British Retail Consortium

Mark Bradshaw, deputy director of the British Retail Consortium, told ePolitix.com: "The announcement of public investment in education, training skills and expanded childcare support is essential for not only increasing productivity but continuing economic growth, job-creation, and regeneration.

"The UK's poor record on education, skills and training, especially in vocational skills, has a direct and negative impact on the productivity of the retail sector. The retail sector has already shown its own commitment by promoting vocational qualifications and developing skills in its workforce by establishing Skillsmart - the sector skills council for the retail sector."

Forum Response: NATFHE

Paul Mackney, general secretary of NATFHE, told ePolitix.com: "It is high time that colleges and universities were brought to the centre stage of the government's access and skills agenda. After years of under investment, colleges and universities are looking for a sizable bite of the £15 billion to reverse years of underfunding in post-16 education.

"Education Maintenance Allowances for over 16s are a welcomed and effective way to encourage young people to stick with further education. We would now like to see a clear sign that the funds will be there to deal with declining pay levels for college and university staff, and that targets for widening access will be backed by funds to adequately support further and higher education students.

"Further education colleges have struggled to cope with a 10 per cent decline in core funding over the last seven years. A one per cent increase will do little to ease to the crisis in colleges. Many colleges have struggled against the odds to maintain quality and standards. If the government's targets for adult skills, flexible training opportunities for 14 to 19 year olds, and wider access are to be met, Estelle Morris must be clear that adequate funds will be available to do the job."

Forum Response: Association of Colleges

Dr John Brennan, director of funding and development at AoC, told ePolitix.com: "Education Maintenance Allowances will go some way to encourage young people who have dropped out from schools to continue in education. We warmly welcome them. We also welcome the current legal reforms in relation to 16-19 transport which require Local Authorities to ensure transport is available to young learners on an affordable basis.

"However, it is equally important that colleges have sufficient core funding to be able to provide high quality learning to all their students. We will continue to press for core funding which matches that offered to schools. At the moment, schools receive some 15 per cent - 20 per cent more on average than colleges."

Forum Response: Unifi

Ed Sweeney, general secretary of Unifi, told ePolitix.com: "We welcome the government's commitment to education. Today's children are tomorrow's employees."

Forum Response: Federation of Small Businesses

A spokesman for the FSB told ePolitix.com: "We support the chancellor's move to allocate funding for schools in order to encourage business education."

Forum Response: Chartered Institute of Marketing

Mike Johnston, international chairman of CIM, told ePolitix.com: "Arming adults with enhanced skills in numeracy and literacy as well as investing in sector specific skills will drive up the efficiency and effectiveness of organisations and motivate and empower employees.

"The government's investment in skills training will ultimately provide adults with more employment opportunities, improve the competitiveness of businesses and the success of UK plc."

Forum Response: Universities Council for the Education of Teachers

A spokeswoman for UCET told ePolitix.com: "We believe that, while the huge investment in education is to be welcomed as a way of strengthening a key public service, it is much to be regretted that the key to the effectiveness of that service - the teachers themselves and the system which educates and supports them - will not benefit directly from the review.

"The CSR will result in massively increased allocations to every phase of education from nursery and early education to further education, but the needs of higher education, where the unit of resource has diminished dramatically over the last twenty years, appear to have been relatively disregarded.

"As a result, these institutions can expect no respite from the fiscal stringency they have had to endure for far too long. UCET may be forgiven, then, for not responding to the CSR with a sense of "unbridled celebration" apparent elsewhere."

Forum Response: SCOP

A spokeswoman for SCOP told ePolitix.com: "SCOP shares the government's vision of expanded opportunities for people to participate and achieve in education at all levels. While much of the initial detail has focused on schools, we also need a healthy, dynamic and high quality system of higher education to deliver the vision.

"We look to the autumn's White Paper to provide a real terms increase in funding per student and new investment in the teaching infrastructure to provide high quality facilities and resources for students.

"We also want increased funding to support widening participation and to assist in meeting the government's 50 per cent participation target and additional funding to modernise pay and career structures and to aid recruitment and retention of key staff.

"Without increased and sustained funding to meet these investment needs, higher education will fail to maximise its potential contribution to the creation of a socially inclusive nation and a more highly educated and skilled workforce. We need a step-change in participation and a step-change in investment to turn the vision to reality."