In a debate called by the Opposition on the issue of school funding, I was pleased to speak on behalf of our local schools which are facing funding challenges and need further support. Being a frequent speaker in the chamber, I found myself at the bottom of the list with only two minutes of allotted time. I am attaching the speech prepared beforehand and you can view my spoken contribution from the House of Commons here: https://goo.gl/n7ev1n
 

'When I stood for election in 2015, I was proud to do so on a record of 1.4 million more Good or Outstanding Schools places having been provided by this Government.

That this was achieved in a challenging financial climate speaks volumes for what this Ministerial team and the teaching profession have done to help so many of our pupils get on in life.

I appreciate that the Government has protected the schools budget and, at over £40bl, this is a record amount of spending. The impact of positive Government policies to invest and reward the UK workforce is eating in to this protected budget and is particularly impactful in a sector where such a high proportion of costs are staff-related.

It was hoped that the new Schools Funding formula would come to the aid of the schools within my largely rural constituency. I am grateful that, overall, my schools receive an increase of 1.5%. However, whilst 16 of my Schools will see rises in their budgets, 23 of them will see reductions in a budget which is already being challenged by the increases to the living wage, pay, pension and national insurance contributions and other changes which impact the bottom line.

I very much hope that the Government will be able to address the shortfall in our schools. The party opposite are long on talk to warm the hearts of headteachers but short on action which will balance the books of my schools or the nation as a whole. Could I make three suggestions to the front-bench which would not require new spending commitments:

1. Investing in schools is an investment in our future productivity. The Chancellor has set up a £23bl National Productivity Investment Fund to spend in areas which will deliver productivity gains. Could I propose that a portion of this fund is used to support schools for the parts of their budget which would deliver a return on productivity?
2. Schools are increasingly supporting mental health challenges which students are increasingly experiencing. The Government has committed an extra £1bl to fund the work of the Mental Health Taskforce. Much of that early intervention work will be done within schools so shouldn’t the funding follow it?
3. Schools in my county are having to pay the Apprenticeship Levy because the LEA meets the criteria of size. Could we please exempt LEAs, and therefore Schools, from having to pay the Apprenticeship Levy.

For a profession in my constituency which are doing their utmost to balance their books, I hope that headteachers will not be taking any lectures from the party opposite which delivered so much debt that the annual interest bill to service it is almost as great as the schools budget.

I do hope that the Government can find a way to further support schools and, by so doing, build on the enormous educational successes of the last 6 years.'

I remain fully committed to helping our schools on this issue.