§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement setting out the total cash sums available to individual schools by way of direct per pupil payments following the Budget statement; and what the equivalent figures were for the previous years. [169331]
§ Ruth KellyIn his Budget statement, the Chancellor set out a £7.4 billion increase in Education spending in England by 2007–08. This amounts to an average spend per pupil of at least £5,500, a figure £1,000 higher than1484W in 2003–04. As part of the statement, he illustrated the scale of payments that are made directly to heads to increase their flexibility on budget decisions. He said that in 2005–06 heads would receive direct payments that sum to £55,000 for a typical primary and £180,000 for a typical secondary school. For 2003–04 the comparable figures were £50,000 and £165,000. Individual schools will receive different amounts according to their pupil numbers.