Heidi Allen and 163 other MPs have signed a letter to the Chancellor of the exchequer supporting an increase in Further Education (FE) funding in the spending review this spring.
On December 7th Heidi Allen visited Hills Road 6th Form College to discuss the Raise the Rate campaign. The national funding rate for 16 and 17 year olds has been frozen at £4,000 per student per year since 2013 and funding for 18 year olds was cut to £3,300 per student in 2014. With the running costs of schools and colleges rising since 2010, and a new range of requirements placed on institutions, schools and colleges have much less money to spend on the front line of education.
Following on from expressing her strong support for the campaign during her visit to Hills Road, Heidi has signed a letter to the Chancellor that highlights Further Education as the “Cinderella” of education spending.
The letter magnifies the illogicality of making education/training compulsory up until the age of 18 without increasing the funding for FE. Furthermore, the letter questions how the UK is supposed to compete in the post-Brexit world when 50% of adults in England are only at, or are below, the level of numeracy expected of an 11 year old.
Heidi and colleagues hope that the letter will result in a meeting with the Chancellor to discuss the need for an increase of funding in Further Education.
If you would like to see the text of the letter, a copy can be seen following the link below.