Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Educational Catch-up Provision Funding

Tuesday 22 June 2021 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial funding for educational catch-up provision includes 1.4 billion over three academic years, on top of 1.7 billion for 2020-21.
  • The Chancellor has provided 2.2 billion of core school funding in addition to the 1.4 billion for education recovery.
  • The Government is reviewing the impact of the funding on educational outcomes and will consider evidence on teacher quality as a key driver of children's success.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mohammad Yasin Lab Bedford
Education
Context

The Secretary of State for Education is asked to assess the effectiveness, value for money and adequacy of £1.4 billion allocated to educational catch-up provision announced on 2 June 2021.

Question

What assessment he has made with the Secretary of State for Education of the (a) effectiveness, (b) value for money and (c) adequacy of the funding allocated to educational catch-up provision announced on 2 June 2021.

Answer from Steve Barclay

We are providing a further £1.4 billion over the next three academic years for education recovery. This is on top of the £1.7 billion provided for academic year 2020-21.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Value for money and adequacy assessment not addressed

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Q2 Mohammad Yasin Lab Bedford
Education Children & Families
Context

The Chancellor refused to fund the £1.4 billion recommended by Sir Kevan Collins, impacting children's catch-up on their education post-pandemic.

Question

It has been widely reported that it was the Chancellor who refused by a 90% margin to find the funding recommended by Sir Kevan Collins to help our nation's children to catch up on their education after the pandemic. The Chancellor has benefited from a first-class private education, so will he take this opportunity to apologise to the generation of children he is letting down as the Tories refuse to invest in our children's and our country's future?

Answer from Steve Barclay

There was a striking omission from that question. There was no reference at all to the additional £2.2 billion of core school funding, over and above which there is the £1.4 billion announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor.

Not addressed: Failure to apologize for not funding educational recovery

How: Change Subject To Positive Actions

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Q3 Bridget Phillipson Lab Houghton and Sunderland South
Education Economy
Context

The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that the Chancellor's failure to invest in children's education could cost £350 billion in lost earnings.

Question

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated that the significant long-term cost to our economy from the Chancellor's failure to invest in our children and young people is as much as £350 billion in lost earnings. Has the Treasury done its own assessment and will the Minister have the decency to publish it?

Answer from Steve Barclay

As I said in my last answer, we will have a review to inform the question in terms of the impact on time. Most of the debates that we have had in this House have focused on teacher quality as the biggest driver of outcomes for children, so we need to see the evidence of it.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No assessment or publishing commitment

How: Referencing Other Debates

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Q4 Bridget Phillipson Lab Houghton and Sunderland South
Education
Context

The Chancellor's failure to invest in educational catch-up support is viewed as a false economy.

Question

With this Government, it seems that it is a case of “don't know, don't care”. The reality is that the Chancellor's failure to invest in our children's future is the very definition of a false economy. The Chancellor recently said that he could not say yes to everyone. He seemed to have no problem saying yes to the friends and donors of the Conservative party, but it is a no to the children who urgently need support to catch up after the biggest disruption to their education for a generation. Is the Minister really proud of that?

Answer from Steve Barclay

I am very proud that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has committed an additional £7.1 billion over three years to increase the school uplift, with £2.2 billion this year alone. I am very proud that he announced £1.7 billion of additional recovery funding.

Not addressed: No admission or explanation for lack of investment

How: Change Subject To Positive Actions

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