Member

First, in the context of school financing, we should recognise that the measures in the Bill and the introduction of VAT will not end up benefiting our state schools. If every single penny of all those extra taxes were to find its way into state school budgets, it would represent the cost of half the salary of a single classroom teacher. The effect of the national insurance increases alone on school budgets wipe that out straightaway. State schools unambiguously will be worse off as a result of the measures set out in the Budget.