Today Stephen Morgan MP rallied alongside further education teachers in Parliament as they called for proper funding from the Government.
Stephen has thrown his full support behind the ‘Love our Colleges’ campaign which highlights the drastic extent of cuts to further education under successive Conservative Governments. Earlier this week he followed up a visit to Portsmouth College by writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling for him to raise the per pupil funding rate in his upcoming budget.
The ‘Love Our Colleges’ campaign is calling for:
1. College funding to be increased to sustainable levels, including but not limited to:
- Increasing the 16-19 funding rate by 5% a year for the next 5 years, and extending the pupil premium to cover post-16 students.
- Fully funding a National Retraining Scheme to support level 3 to 5 skills.
- Introducing a lifetime learning entitlement to fund skills training for all adults who have not previously achieved a level 3 qualification.
2. The provision of immediate exceptional funding, ring-fenced for pay, to cover the costs of a fair pay deal for college staff from 2018/19 onwards.
Stephen Morgan MP, said:
“Our colleges are a credit to our city, and it was good to join teachers and heads today in Parliament Square to fight for their funding. Further education is key to the strength of our communities and economy, but it has seen budgets slashed by this Government.
That’s why I’ve written to the Chancellor asking him to invest in our young people and raise funding by 5%. The Tories are holding our teachers and their students back, but I’ll continue to fight for the resources they need to thrive“.
Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, marking Love Our Colleges Week, said:
“Colleges play an absolutely vital role in communities across this country, providing education for all those who need it. As someone who had my own life transformed by the second chance at education I received at my local college, I know just how important these services are to so many people.
The Tories have slashed funding for colleges and are leaving many of them in a situation that is simply unsustainable. Colleges will play a vital role in Labour’s National Education Service, which will give them the resources they need to deliver free lifelong learning for all those who need it.”
