Mid Cheshire’s Schools Shortchanged

Cheshire West & Chester Council’s schools are set to be hit with an £8.6 million cut to spending power in 2024/25, with Cheshire East Council losing even more at £9.5 million. 

The cut will equate to a £185 fall in funding per pupil in Cheshire West & Chester Council and a £188 decrease in Cheshire East. 

Cheshire West & Chester’s Liberal Democrats are calling for the Government to boost funding for local schools as they struggle to balance the books

Schools in Mid Cheshire are set to be hit with an £8.6 million cut to spending power in 2024/25 data from the National Education Union (NEU) reveals.

It means that funding per pupil in Cheshire West & Chester will be cut by £185 in 2024/25 compared with 2023/24. The situation is worse for Middlewich schools, overseen by Cheshire East Council, whose funding per pupil across the council will be cut by £188.  

There are 148 schools in Cheshire West and 146 schools in Cheshire East. 278 of which will have less spending power in 2024/25 as a result of these funding cuts. For Primary schools in Cheshire West & Chester, there will be a £161 reduction in spending power per pupil over the next financial year, and in Secondary schools there will be a £236 fall in spending power per pupil. In neighbouring Cheshire East, Primary and Secondary school pupils will see £170 and £220 decreases respectively. 

Cheshire West & Chester’s Liberal Democrats have warned that the fall in spending power will push already stretched school budgets to the brink, with a worse educational experience for pupils and worse outcomes. It comes as new data released today shows that this Conservative Government has cut the annual growth in funding in cash terms from 8% in 2023/4 to 3.1% in 2024/5.  

The Lib Dems are calling for the Government to review school funding after the IFS has concluded that the purchasing power of school budgets in 2024 will still be about 4% lower than in 2010.

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Mid Cheshire, Jack Price-Harbach said:

 “This Conservative government has failed Mid Cheshire’s children. Parents in our community should not have to send their children to schools which have had their funding decimated by a Conservative government that has lost interest in providing high-quality education. 
“Investing in education is investing in our future but this Conservative government has let school buildings crumble and overseen a severe shortage of teachers. Far from preparing the next generation for the future, Ministers have totally abandoned them. 
“The Liberal Democrats know that investment in education boosts our children’s futures. The Treasury needs to urgently look at increasing school funding”.