Chloe Smith MP: £33m for Norfolk school places will help beat the bulge

 

Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North, has welcomed the news that the Government has announced an extra £2.35 billion to create more school places. This is in addition to the £5 billion that is already being spent in this parliament. This means that between 2014 and 2017 schools in Norfolk will receive £33.6m. This compares to £13.1m for Suffolk, and £14.3m for Cambridgeshire.  Chloe has worked with primary schools in the north City area of her constituency over several years on the issue of planning sensibly for the local bulge in births.

It is the first time that councils have had 3-year allocations of funding to spend on school places, so now Norfolk County Council can plan ahead and ensure every child has a school place. This Government has already created 260,000 new school places and this announcement means thousands more are on the way.

Chloe commented:

‘North Norwich has a rising birthrate.  Schools have done their best to prepare and parents want to know that there is a place for their child.  Locally, I have met with schools and the County Council about this important issue over several years.

‘Nationally, the last Labour government ignored the fact that rising birth rates meant we will need thousands more school places in the coming years, and did nothing to prepare.

‘So it is good news for families in Norwich that this Government has committed billions of extra funding, 3 years ahead, to ensure every child has a place at school.  It’s about sensible planning which helps parents out.  It’s also about creating an education system that gives young people the skills they need to get on in life and have a more secure and better future.’