In a speech in the Budget Debate today, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP welcomed the £22.5 billion investment by 2021 for road funding and reiterated to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Liz Truss MP, that it was essential that the Government now proceeded to announce their preferred route, which is believed to be Option 30, in the first quarter of next year.

Sir Geoffrey also raised the problem of school funding in the Cotswolds. Whilst welcoming the extra £430 million extra for schools’ capital funding this did nothing to ease the problems with revenue funding. Sir Geoffrey said that Gloucestershire County Council had overspent their high needs education block by £3.2 million this year, because youngsters are beginning to develop problems such as mental health earlier, which means that more money needs to be provided for extra assistance. The result of this is that the previous national funding formula, announced by the Government after the 2017 election, that all secondary school pupils would receive £4,800 will be reduced to £4,600 in Gloucestershire.

Sir Geoffrey said that the difference of £200 per pupil would make a significant difference to each secondary school’s budget and that it is sad fact that after many years of improvement we are now seeing a small decline in Ofsted ratings in Gloucestershire’s schools. Sir Geoffrey intends to continue his campaign for fairer funding for Gloucestershire’s school.