Budget 2007: Education

ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on the education measures in Gordon Brown's 2007 Budget.

Stakeholder Response : National Union of Teachers

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Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "In a very tough financial climate I recognise that the chancellor has maintained his commitment to education.

"Any government worth its salt has to understand that the United Kingdom can’t punch its weight in the world without the best possible standards in education.

"I am delighted that the chancellor is maintaining his commitment to narrow the gap between the amount spent on each pupil in the public and private sector.

"It is essential that there is no reduction in the rate of increase in expenditure per child.

"The chancellor must make clear the target date for the achievement of equity for children in the state sector.

"That said it is vital that the government does not take its eye of the ball in spending terms and does not make extravagant commitments which will make unrealistic demands on schools.

"The every child matters agenda can’t be carried out on the cheap and school communities will oppose the allocation of additional responsibilities without the additional staff being found.

"I welcome the chancellors emphasis on practical personalised learning. One to one tuition has been denied to children from less well off backgrounds. This is a positive step that should lift the educational achievement of many children.

"As a member of the campaign to end child poverty we recognise the significant investment that the government has made in this budget, we are pleased the chancellor has listened to our campaign and recommitted the government to keep its promise to millions of children in the UK.

"However we are concerned this budget won’t be enough to reach the 2010 target of halving child poverty and are calling on the government to make further steps towards the necessary extra investment or risk missing the target altogether."

 

Stakeholder Response : Association of School and College Leaders

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ASCL general secretary Dr John Dunford said: "I welcome the real-term increase in the national education budget up to 2010, in particular the recognition that extended schools will need extra resources to provide a comprehensive out-of-hours service.

"On the face of it, this appears to be a good deal for education. However, as with previous budgets, we will need to see the small print before we can calculate the real effect that this will have on school and college budgets."

 

Stakeholder Response : Association of Teachers and Lecturers

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ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said: "With little money to play with the chancellor’s plans for education are better than expected. 

"However, pay increases for grossly underpaid school support staff, must not be screwed down as a way of paying for increases in education funding.

"It would be a foolish policy in a government that claims education is its priority - penalising public sector staff has brought down labour governments in the past."

Response : University and College Union

UCU joint general secretary Sally Hunt said: "All politicians tell us that education is a priority – some repeat the mantra three times. Rhetoric alone cannot support our universities and colleges, especially if the challenging participation targets in the Leitch Report are to be realised.

"The increase in the percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on education to 5.6 per cent is welcome.

"However, part of that increase has come from charging university tuition fees.

"When the DfES and the devolved governments come to divvy up the overall education budget they must look to increase spending on further and higher education.

“We want public spending on higher education to rise as a proportion of GDP to the international average.

"UCU has called on the government to use the forthcoming comprehensive spending review (CSR) to bring Britain in line with countries such as America and our European neighbours.

"More money for employers to fund training is to be welcomed and hopefully the reduction in corporation tax will prompt companies into significantly increasing their outlay on training and career development.

"However, there was sadly no mention of how the government intends to address the funding and pay gap between our colleges and schools."

"“This appears to be a short-term strategy as the government will ultimately lose money in the long-term from repaid debts.

"Let’s not forget that few private companies have a proud record of taking over the running of systems like student loans.

"We need assurances from government that the money raised will be ploughed back into higher education and not used to replace public funding.

"Furthermore, as students are forced to borrow more to meet the cost of their university education, we need a guarantee that the interest rate on student loans will not rise."