Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle, has welcomed the additional £1.3 billion a year extra funding for schools and praised parents and teachers across the constituency for helping him press the Government to do more.
The additional funding carries a guarantee that a minimum of £4,800 will be spent each year on every secondary school pupil across East Sussex. For some of the secondary schools in the Bexhill and Battle constituency, this will mean up to an 8.3% increase. Despite existing record high levels of Government spending on schools, staff and parents from local schools have contacted the MP with their concerns about additional costs which their schools were struggling to meet.
Huw said “Last month I met again with many of the Headteachers who represent schools across the constituency for us to discuss our next plan of action. I am therefore really pleased with the government decision. I am grateful to the heads, teachers, and hundreds of parents who have written to or spoken with me to highlight their concerns. This year alone, I have had six separate meetings with the Education Secretary and Schools’ Minister to press the case for my schools. I now hope that this extra money will help schools in my constituency to continue to thrive.”
Since his election in 2015, the MP has launched his ‘school a week’ programme which has seen him visit most of the schools in the constituency at least once.
Huw said “As the son of a teacher, and a trade union rep at that, I have a passion for ensuring that our schools continue to thrive and speaking up for them in Parliament. One of the pleasures of this job is spending time with pupils, teachers and parents. We need to support them in everything they do and I hope this additional funding will help. The challenge for me is to ensure that the money reaches the classrooms and, if not enough, continue to fight for more funding.”
Having received a commitment for guaranteed secondary school funding in the constituency, Mr. Merriman has written to the Education Secretary, Justine Greening, to obtain the same funding commitment for primary schools in his constituency.
