MEMBER of Parliament for Stroud and chairman of the education select committee, Neil Carmichael, has welcomed the chancellor’s commitment to introduce fair school funding as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

A new funding formula will set a national rate that every school will receive for each pupil, with additional funding for those with extra needs.

From 2017-18 onwards the resources schools and local authorities will receive will be based on pupil characteristics rather than historic political calculations.

The announcement signals an end to the current system which has been branded as “unfair”, which has lasted for decades and led to a situation where the ten best funded areas of England receive an average of £6,300 per pupil of schools block funding, compared to just £4,200 in the ten worst funded areas – with no objective basis for the difference.

On Tuesday, December 1, Mr Carmichael will join colleagues as petitions from over 100 constituencies calling for fair funding will be presented by MPs in the House of Commons.

Speaking after the announcement, he said: “As chair of the Education Committee I had written to Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education urging her to bring forward proposals for fairer funding as soon as possible, and I am delighted the chancellor has made this commitment.

“The Education Committee will be scrutinising the details of the reforms early in the New Year when the consultation starts.

“This reform will make a huge difference to Gloucestershire schools, which are historically one of the lowest counties in the country.

“I am delighted that the government has committed to introduce a national funding formula for English schools, ending the postcode lottery that means children in Stroud lose out for no good reason..

“As always, the devil will lie in the detail and we will need to see the full detail of the consultation, but in principle this represents a huge step forward and is a decision of lasting significance.”