New Figures Reveal Folkestone and Hythe Schools £3.5 Million Worse Off since 2015

The Liberal Democrats have announced that they will spend £10 billion a year more on schools and hire 20,000 more teachers by the end of the next Parliament.

New figures from the National Education Union show that next year (2020/21), schools in Folkestone and Hythe will have seen their budgets cut by more than £3.5 million in real terms since 2015, once increasing pupil numbers are taken into account.

This is equivalent to a cut of £232 per pupil. Across the constituency, almost nine in ten schools have seen their spending power cut since 2015.

Simon Bishop, Liberal Democrat candidate for Folkestone and Hythe said:

"Young people across Folkestone and Hythe deserve world-class schools and colleges so they can get the best start in life.

"The Conservatives have cut school budgets to the bone. Across the country, hundreds of schools rely on handouts from local parents or cut staff numbers to make ends meet. Some schools are even shortening the school day because they can't afford to keep children at school for a five-day week.

"If I am lucky enough to be elected as the next MP for Folkestone and Hythe, I will fight to reverse school cuts so that our children can get the resources they need to learn.

"Liberal Democrats will build a brighter future for every child in Folkestone and Hythe. By stopping Brexit, we can spend £10 billion a year more on schools and recruit 20,000 more teachers to give every child the skills they need to succeed in life."

A Liberal Democrat government would reverse these cuts to frontline school budgets with an emergency cash injection of £4.6 billion next year.

By 2024/25, the party will spend more than £10 billion extra on schools compared to this year, enough to boost teaching numbers by 20,000 over five years.

The funding will also be used to support children with special educational needs and invest in extra training for teachers.

The spreadsheet from the NEU's School Cuts website can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iv61p6oj7i15kn7/AACgHztmZTTsFH27SPqJj5IAa?dl=0&preview=Constituency.xlsx