MP Daniel Kawczynski calls for fairness on school spending
Shrewsbury's MP is calling for parity in the amount of funding each child in the country receives for their education.
Daniel Kawczynski met with the chief secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss (WEDS) to ask why a child going to school in inner city London receives almost £2,000 more in educational funding than one at school in Shropshire.
He has pledged to do all he can to secure fair funding for all children in the country.
He said: "No minister has had the forethought to grapple with the problem of the colossal difference in educational funding across the UK.
"Over a period of time I want to get rid of these differences to ensure that every pupil receives the same level of funding and support. And this is not just between London and Shrewsbury but between Shrewsbury and Telford. Teachers seem to be shocked at the differences between the level of equipment and supplies in schools in these two areas of Shropshire.
"The chief secretary promised me that she would explore the possibility of giving schools an understanding of what they would receive over a three year period. She has also asked me to try and get an understanding from our schools as to the minimum they require going forward.
"I hope to encourage headteachers from our schools to write to me with their views. I then plan to carry out an evaluation of that and determine what are the problems the headteachers are facing as a result of that lack of funding.
"I understand there are different levels of deprivation but we are now prepared to take this on and say 'No'. No matter where a child is they need to get the same amount of funding.
"My main priority was to secure funding for the NWRR and now that has happened this is my new focus going froward to get parity for each child in terms of educational funding."
