Ahead of Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget this week, our Director of Research & Policy Carl Cullinane looks at what could, and should, be included if the government wants to re-invigorate its aim to level up education.
With the Spring Budget due this week, there has been significant speculation and discussion of what shape it might take. This is Jeremy Hunt’s second ‘fiscal event’ as chancellor, but the first allowed little room for manoeuvre, acting as an exercise in damage limitation after the autumn’s economic upheaval. This leaves a number of open questions as to whether this week will see any loosening of the purse strings, particularly in light of recent reports of increased fiscal ‘headroom’ due to lower than expected borrowing, higher tax receipts, as well as lower energy costs. It also raises the question of what the government’s policy priorities are. With the focus on inflation, public sector pay, and energy bill support, will there be room for education, social mobility or levelling up?
Back in January the Prime Minister set out his key priorities for 2023. While these unsurprisingly focused on the economy and the NHS, there was also a commitment to providing maths to all in post-16 education. While this aim is laudable, many have highlighted the practical barriers to its implementation, not least the huge shortage of specialised teachers, especially in the most deprived areas. We remain several years from implementation of such a policy, but the groundwork on the workforce will need to begin soon. Beyond this key prime ministerial policy, there are any number of areas calling for investment tomorrow. But if the Chancellor wants to kickstart the levelling up agenda in education once again, here are a few he could be looking at.
