Farron meets teaching union as campaign against school cuts continues

Schools across Westmorland and Lonsdale are set to see budgets slashed by more than £5.5 million, which could mean the loss of hundreds of teachers, according to the NUT. Local MP Tim Farron has secured a meeting with the Schools Minister next week in order to step up his campaign against school cuts.

Tim met with the National Union of Teachers (NUT) last week to discuss the funding crisis facing local schools. The NUT's figures show that every single school in Tim's constituency is set to see its funding cut between 2015/16 and 2019/20, with some facing cuts of up to 20%. Across the constituency as a whole, schools are set to lose over £5.5million by the end of this parliament, a cut of 12%. This equates to £567 per pupil. The National Union of Head Teachers estimates that these cuts could see 625 teachers cut across Cumbria.

Tim has secured a meeting with Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP to raise this funding crisis with him. Tim has also invited other Cumbrian MPs to the meeting and to join his campaign for fairer funding for the county's schools.

Tim said: "The government must wake up to the fact that cutting millions of pounds from our schools would be a disaster. It would mean fewer teachers and fewer resources, leading to larger class sizes and less individual attention. Education spending is an investment in the life chances of our children, and the government needs to recognise the damage these cuts would have.

"Having met with many hardworking local teachers and Head Teachers, as well as union representatives, I will now be continuing this campaign in Westminster when I meet the Schools Minister next week. These huge cuts are a massive mistake and the government must think again."