Sir Nicholas’s intervention on school funding in West Sussex during a Debate on Education. House of Commons, Monday 1st July, 2019.

Department for Education

Monday 1st July 2019

House of Commons

Sir Nicholas Soames MP (Mid Sussex) (Con)

My hon. Friend has been a fantastic champion for West Sussex schools. I endorse his suggestion for a challenge fund. It is an extremely good idea and I hope that it makes some progress. He and I have sat in endless meetings with the Secretary of State and others, and he knows that the funding situation is not confined to the coastal district and that it is just as serious further inland.

Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that the situation is not just confined to coastal areas. However, the problem is that there tend to be more deprived communities in coastal areas around the country. Seemingly affluent shire counties such as West Sussex disguise pockets of deprivation. We have high special educational needs in many of our schools and we need to focus more on bringing the funding up to at least the average in the rest of the country to give those children a better chance.

Hansard
1 July 2019   
Volume 662
No 322
Col 999