82 out of 87 schools in Newcastle face cuts of £4.5 million next year - protect education spending, Newcastle Liberal Democrats tell Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Liberal Democrats in Newcastle have called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt not to make children and young people pay for the Conservatives' botched Budget by cutting school and college funding further during next week's Autumn Statement. as shocking new figures show that schools in the city face cuts in their spending power of £4.5 million next year.

The figures, just published today by the 'School Cuts' campaign run by teaching unions, reveal that local schools will have as much as £142 per pupil less to spend next year (2023/24) compared to this year (2022/23).

In total, 82 of Newcastle's 87 schools will see a reduction in their spending power next year compared to this year.

The figures estimate the true spending power that schools have after increases in teacher salaries, pensions, tax and non-staff costs have all been taken into account. It comes after the Government instructed council-run schools to give teachers a much-deserved pay rise of between 5% and 8.9% this year, but gave schools no extra money to pay for it, meaning that they had to make cuts elsewhere.

Overall, nine in ten schools across England will have less spending power next year compared to this year. More than two in three schools in England will have a lower spending power next year than in 2015.

Liberal Democrats parliamentary spokesperson for Newcastle North, Dr Aidan King (pictured with his son), said:

"Under this Government, schools must choose between teaching children or heating classrooms. Headteachers are warning that they will have to cut teaching assistants, mental health support and school clubs in order to make ends meet.

"Liberal Democrats know that a fair deal for Newcastle means investing in our chidren's futures. Parents and teachers will be rightly angry if the Chancellor announces more cuts to schools and colleges next week."

He added: "The Conservatives are planning more public spending cuts to pay for their own economic incompetence. School trips are already being axed, teaching assistants are being laid off and urgent classroom repairs are being ignored.

"Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt must confirm urgently that they will not cut real-terms funding for schools and colleges during next week's Autumn Statement. The Conservatives must not balance the books on the backs of our children and young people."

The data is taken from the https://schoolcuts.org.uk/ website, maintained by the National Education Union, which was updated with figures for 2023/24 yesterday. An explanation of their methodology is available on their website.