Pre Budget Report and Education

09 Dec 2009

The education highlights from the Chancellor's Pre Budget Report include:

Schools spending protected, with guaranteed 'real terms' increases next year and for two years from 2011.
No similar promises to protect FE and HE spending.
Extra half a million primary school children to get free school meals.
Short-term internships for graduates from low income homes to remove 'informal barriers' to entry to professions and business.

The Chancellor said:

Spending:

This means I can confirm not just that we will increase spending as planned next year, in hospitals, schools and policing.

But we can also pledge that spending on these crucial front-line services will continue to rise, over and above inflation, after 2010-11, so that we can meet the improved public service guarantees and entitlements we have set out.

Free School Meals:

I am able to extend free school meals to half a million primary school children of low income working parents, who previously would not have been eligible.

Once fully rolled-out, this will lift up to an additional 50,000 children out of relative poverty, towards our target of abolishing child poverty by 2020.

Internships:

We also want to break down informal barriers which close off some careers to undergraduates from poorer backgrounds.

I can announce we will offer financial support for up to 10,000 undergraduates from low-income backgrounds to take up short internships in industry, business and the professions.

This will give them a taste of careers which they may not otherwise have considered – and further details will be announced shortly.