Mr Redwood’s intervention during the Estimates Day debate on Education, 3 July 2018

Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con): I am concerned that the Department’s estimate is not strategic enough to deliver the outcomes we need. Let me take, for example, the recent announcement on grammar schools. I am not against grammar schools—I believe in parental choice—but I am not sure why spending up to £200 million over the next two years on expanding grammar schools is more important than spending £200 million on looking after the most vulnerable pupils. We could look after hundreds of thousands of vulnerable pupils with tuition for 12 weeks a year and transform their life opportunities.

John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): Surely we have to do both. Expanding grammar schools provides opportunities, and this expansion will particularly target those from disadvantaged backgrounds, which is a great idea in support of it, but we also need to do what my right hon. Friend says for other children. I hope that he, like me, would welcome more rapid progress on better and fairer funding for all our schools, because it is still very low in areas such as mine.

1 Comment

  1. Narrow Shoulders
    July 5, 2018

    As you rightly point out Mr Redwood the point is a non sequitur. Looked after children and EAL and deprivation all have their own funding streams and are driven by numbers. The remainder from the total pot is then allocated to the general population. The Poor, immigrants and looked after children take funding from the mainstream.

    No need for the facts to get in the way of Mr Halfon’s bleating.

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