Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, comments on the government’s plans to spend £75 billion more on defence over the next six years compared with current levels.
“While we recognise the need for defence in an uncertain world, we are deeply concerned about how the government is going to pay for this without further detriment to education and other public services on which families depend. When the Prime Minister talks about ‘record investment in our schools’ what has actually happened is a decade of cuts followed by a more recent – but still inadequate – improvement in spending. The reality is that many schools are having to set deficit budgets and make further cuts. The funding for further education has been even more inadequate – in fact, it has been shameful. We simply cannot see how the government’s spending plans add up without there being significant cuts to public services, and a new age of austerity.”