Autumn Statement 2022: Government accused of 'ignoring the sector' as chancellor announces more money for schools

Delivering his budget in the House of Commons this morning (17 November), the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, announced an extra £2.3bn per annum for schools in 2023 and the following year, stating that education is not just an ‘economic mission, but a moral mission’, and thanking teaching staff for their hard work. However, he failed to include any support for the early years.

The Early Years Alliance (EYA) ‘slammed’ the Government for continuing to ignore the sector.

Chief executive Neil Leitch said, ‘Education starts long before a child reaches the school gates. If the Government is truly committed to ensuring that every child gets a world-class education, it is absolutely critical that it invests what is needed into our vital sector before the early years is damaged beyond repair.’

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said the Budget 'demonstrated how this Government does not value the future of our youngest children.'

Chief executive Purnima Tanuku said,'The announcement of additional funding for schools demonstrates that this Government does not value the importance of early education or understand that investment made at this crucial stage of a child’s life reaps benefits for years to come. This demonstrates a lack of respect for the amazing work that early years educators do day in, day out to support children and families.'

Meanwhile, the school leaders’ union NAHT said it ‘hoped the money will bring schools back from the cliff edge they have been teetering on.’

However, its general secretary Paul Whiteman warned that it ‘doesn’t mean schools are completely off the hook’, and that the funding doesn’t solve the ‘serious recruitment and retention crisis’ or ‘restore teachers’ and school leaders’ pay after a decade of erosion.’

Key points from the Autumn Budget include:

 Taxes and wages

• The National Living Wage will rise to £10.42 an hour next year.
• Income tax, personal allowance and higher rate thresholds will be frozen for a further two years, until April 2028.
• The threshold for the 45p rate of tax will be cut from £150,000 to £125,140.
• The pensions triple-lock will be kept.

Commenting on the rise in the National Living Wage, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, said, ‘While all staff should of course receive a fair wage for the work they do, increasing the minimum wage to £10.42 per hour without committing to an equivalent increase in early years funding will wreak havoc on a sector that is already facing extreme challenges.  

‘Years of underfunding has pushed settings to a cliff edge, and with soaring inflation and rising energy prices, it will be impossible for settings to stay open if wages increase to this extent without additional Government investment.’

Businesses

• An almost £14bn tax cut on business rates, benefitting around 700,000 businesses, including pubs and retailers.
  Nurseries will get business rates revaluation rates from April, with some help with transitioning to new rates.
  
  
• Employment allowance will be retained at a higher level of £5,000.

Tanuku of the NDNA, which has been calling for business rates to be abolished for nurseries, said, 'It is clear the Chancellor values pubs over childcare. This is a false economy as it could push more nurseries into closing their doors, leaving fewer parents able to work.'

According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the announcements will ‘pile more pressure on the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses, their employees and customers’, who face even higher taxes, cuts to innovation and a ‘recipe for a longer and deeper recession.’

David Eaves, director – childcare & education, Christie & Co, said it appeared 'unlikely that any of this additional funding [for schools] will extend into the early years sector, where vital education starts for so many.

'The Government will publish a plan to address the staffing crisis in the NHS and healthcare, yet the struggle for the early years sector continues and it doesn’t look like there is a plan in place to mend any time soon. This is disappointing in a sector which is critical for both our children and the growth of our country.'

 Families and benefits

• Help for energy bills will be extended, but it will be less generous from April next year.
• The Government’s energy price guarantee will be adjusted from April 2023 to April 2024, so a typical household will pay £3,000 a year.
• Benefits will rise in line with September’s inflation rate, by 10.1 per cent.
• The benefits cap will be increased with inflation next year.

While Action for Children’s director of policy and campaigns Imran Hussain said that families would be relieved benefits are to increase with inflation, he warned that previous rounds of cuts and freezes mean that the amount of money is still ‘well out of step with what families need to live on.’

He added, ‘Our own analysis shows that high inflation could lead to more than 23,000 vulnerable children missing out on support this year. Without funding from Government, local authorities are likely to remain trapped in a cycle of spiralling costs, incentivising further cuts to the vital preventative services that children and families most need.’

The Child Poverty Action Group expressed similar concerns, claiming that ‘today’s package will not stop the ice from cracking under struggling families.’