The government announced (in the Pre-Budget Report for 2006) that direct grants to primary school headteachers would be increased to £50,000 (from £39,000), and to £200,000 (from £150,000) for secondary schools. It also set a target for 90 per cent of adults to achieve the equivalent of 5 GCSEs by 2020; and for the number of adults achieving A-Level equivalent skills to double from 2 million to 4 million. (GCSE = General Certificate of Secondary Education; A = Advanced)
Source: Pre-Budget Report 2006: Investing in Britain's potential - Building our long-term future, Cm 6984, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Summary | Hansard | HMT press release | NUT press release (1) | NUT press release (2) | NASUWT press release | ASCL press release | NAHT press release | ATL press release | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | Community Care report
Date: 2006-Dec
A report by a committee of MPs said that a government pledge to increase funding per state school pupil from £5,000 to £8,000 (to match private schools) amounted to an aspiration rather than a definite commitment with a specific timescale. It estimated that it would cost £17 billion to close the gap, and that this would not be achieved before 2014.
Source: Public Expenditure, Fifth Report (Session 2005-06), HC 1201, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NUT press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report said that the United Kingdom was one of the few developed countries that had delivered on its promises on education spending. The UK had steadily increased spending from 4.3 per cent of national income in 1990 to 5.5 per cent in 1995; and, at 6.1 per cent in 2003, the figure was above the average. In a third of developed countries, spending on education as a proportion of national income had actually declined.
Source: Education at a Glance: 2006 edition, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (+33 1 4524 8200)
Links: Summary | OECD press release | DfES press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2006-Sep
Two linked studies found that local authority finance managers and headteachers considered that the new school funding arrangements, introduced in April 2006, would increase stability and the ability to plan ahead: but this needed to be balanced against the need for flexibility.
Source: Mary Atkinson, Caroline Gulliver, Emily Lamont and Richard White, The New School Funding Arrangements 2006-7: The Local Authority Perspective, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000) | Mary Atkinson, Caroline Gulliver, Emily Lamont and Jenny Murfield, The New School Funding Arrangements 2006-7: The School Perspective, Local Government Association
Links: Local authority report | School report | NFER press release
Date: 2006-Jul
A briefing note examined key recent issues in education spending. It looked at the significance of statements in the 2006 Budget regarding school capital expenditure and the pledge to increase funding per pupil in the state sector to that seen in the private sector. It also considered what the comprehensive spending review in 2007 was likely to mean for education, given commitments in other areas of government spending. An appendix contained information about overall trends in public spending on education in the United Kingdom, and the international context.
Source: Alissa Goodman and Luke Sibieta, Public Spending on Education in the UK, Briefing Note 71, Institute for Fiscal Studies (web publication only)
Links: Briefing Note | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jul
A committee of Welsh Assembly members said that schools in Wales were facing a "funding fog" because of an over-complicated finance system.
Source: Report on School Funding Arrangements in Wales, Committee on School Funding/National Assembly for Wales (029 2089 8618)
Links: Report | NAW press release | WLGA press release | BBC report | Childlink report
Date: 2006-Jun
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on public expenditure on education and skills.
Source: Public Expenditure on Education and Skills: Government Response to the Committee's Second Report of Session 2005-06, Fourth Special Report, (Session 2005-06), HC 1132, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2006-May
A report said that private money could transform the opportunities for children in state education: but funding city academies was a risky investment, and might not be the best use of money.
Source: John Copps, On Your Marks: Young people in education, New Philanthropy Capital (0207 401 8080)
Links: Report | Summary | NPC press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Apr
The 2006 Budget included extra funding for teachers and school buildings, with the aim of starting to close the spending gap between the state and private sectors. By 2011 capital spending on buildings and equipment in the state sector would rise by 50 per cent to 8 billion a year, so that capital spending for each pupil would reach 1,000 - the same as in private schools. But no timescale was set for the long-term aim of raising overall spending on schools from 5,000 a pupil to the 8,000 in the private sector.
Source: Budget 2006: A strong and strengthening economy - Investing in Britain s future, Cm 968, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | HMT press release | DfES press release | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2006-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs (published before the 2006 Budget) said that a slow-down in funding growth for education would mean an increase of 2-3 per cent a year in cash terms, compared with 5-7 per cent growth in previous years. It questioned whether education was still the government's top priority.
Source: Public Expenditure on Education and Skills, Second Report (Session 2005-06), HC 479, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2006-Mar
The government began consultation on a programme of demolishing or rebuilding over 900 primary schools in the worst physical condition, and significantly improving a further 8,000 primary schools - with the aim of ensuring that every child by 2022 was taught in a decent school building.
Source: Primary Capital Programme: Building primary schools at the heart of the community, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Consultation document | DfES press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Mar
An audit report said that the Welsh Assembly Government s new system for providing grants to local education authorities, to help with training, support, and development activities for teachers, was more streamlined and easier to understand than the scheme it replaced: but there remained challenges to be tackled.
Source: Administration of Grants for Education Support and Training (GEST) and the Better Schools Fund, Wales Audit Office (029 2026 0260)
Links: Report | WAO press release
Date: 2006-Feb
