Former education secretary warns Jeremy Hunt to avoid education cuts
Kit Malthouse, the former education secretary, warned Jeremy Hunt that any cuts to the school budgets will result in a “disaster” for the UK.
As the Chancellor prepares to make the Autumn Statement next week, Malthouse told GB News: “Well, it’s certainly the case that things are very tight at education. And schools are already struggling with the rise in energy costs, general inflation and cost of living.
“And of course, a 5% pay rise, which was given to teachers last year, not all of which was included in their budget settlement. So it is very tough and I have to say, I’ve seen some quite alarming stuff in the papers over the last couple of days where they are indicating that there might be cuts to the education budget.
“As far as I can see, I can’t see how that can be acceptable. Typically, when you bear in mind that during the pandemic, it was children and their education that was most significantly damaged, and we’re just in the middle of kind of catch up, teachers across the country are working really hard to get kids back up to speed, performance having dipped naturally during the pandemic.
“To disturb that dynamic, just as this generation is getting back on their feet, would seem to me a really, really, unacceptable thing to do.”
