Julian Knight MP joined 110 fellow Members of Parliament to support a fairer system of funding for English schools, as part of his ongoing campaign on behalf of Solihull’s schools.
According to f40, a group which represents the lowest-unfunded education authorities in England, the ten poorest-funded education authorities receive only two-thirds the per-pupil funding of the ten richest – a difference of over £2000.
Amongst the other signatories were former Conservative Cabinet ministers as well as the current and former chairmen of the Education Select Committee and a number of Labour MPs.
Commenting on the letter, Julian said:
“Birmingham schools currently enjoy a higher per-pupil level of funding than schools in Solihull. But the seven thousand Birmingham children who currently attend Solihull schools don’t bring this money with them.
“During the election I promised to take action, and have held two meetings with ministers and co-hosted Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, when she visited Solihull. A special Parliamentary debate on this very important subject has been organised next week, and I will attend to continue to speak up for Solihull.
“I believe that Solihull’s young people deserve the very best start in life, and am proud to have joined this campaign for a just funding settlement for English schools.”