Budget June 2010: Education and skills

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We examine some key highlights affecting education and skills policy, including reaction from ePolitix.com stakeholders.

Education and skills

• The government will look at how to dispose of its shareholding in the student loan book
• The chancellor said he recognised "particular pressures on our education system and on defence", and final departmental settlements will be set in the spending review

Member Response: general secretary of the NASUWT, Chris Keates

"Despite the chancellor's opening remarks that he will not keep anything from the British people, he is doing just that.

"A £30bn per year reduction in public spending is announced but no detail of where the axe will fall.

"Despite all the pre and post election rhetoric, schools and education are not protected from the swingeing 25% cut in departmental budgets over the next four years.

"Core services are clearly not safe in the hands of this government.

"An 'independent' review of public sector pensions is announced. The chancellor then states they are 'unaffordable', pre-empting and rendering the review pointless. In addition, again pre-empting the review, he imposes an immediate cut by switching from an RPI to CPI index. This will heavily penalise millions of pensioners and their families.

"The chancellor claims that he wants evidence based policy making, yet he rejects the recommendations of independent pay review bodies, which took into account the economic climate, and imposes a two year public sector pay freeze.

"The chancellor's assertion that the public sector has been ‘insulated' is an insult to all nurses and health service staff, teachers and support staff, police officers, fire-fighters and other public service workers. During this recession, they have worked tirelessly to deliver an even greater scale of service to the public in order to mitigate against the worst effects of a situation caused by the reckless bankers and financiers who have emerged from this budget unscathed.

"In short, this is a dishonest budget on every level which will have a devastating impact on millions."

Member Response: Voice: the union for education professionals general secretary, Philip Parkin

"This destructive Budget is the unacceptable face of coalition and the 'road to ruin' for our public services.

"It will seriously diminish the public sector and gives Voice great concern for the future of education. The Chancellor has even acknowledged 'particular pressures' on that department. Dedicated teachers, teaching assistants, childcarers and other public sector professionals are being made to pay for the folly, incompetence and greed of politicians and the City.

"Children and adult learners will suffer as services wither and die, courses are cut and buildings crumble. Economic recovery and the long-term prosperity of the country will be damaged by the decline in further and higher education and by the rise in unemployment.

"Support staff and childcarers will suffer from the two-year public sector pay freeze. The flat rate payment of £250 for those earning less than £21,000 will do little except compensate them for the increased expenditure that they will incur as a result of the rise in VAT. Voice is particularly concerned about the financial situation of its lower paid members – such as some education support staff and childcare workers.

"This Budget will ultimately destroy the coalition – either by dividing the Liberal Democrat MPs or by consigning their party to electoral oblivion and their Conservative partners to defeat at the next election."

Member Response: National Union of Teachers general secretary, Christine Blower

"We deplore this cuts-based Budget. Yet again public services are under attack and will bear the brunt of the brutal cost cutting measures this government wants to see put in place.

"Pay limits and pay freezes in the public sector will simply reduce spending power in the economy. This will delay economic recovery and risk tipping us into a double-dip recession. While we welcome the government honouring the 2010/11 pay deal for teachers they will nonetheless suffer a pay freeze for two years from September 2011. This will do nothing for recruitment and retention into schools.

"The reforms to public sector pensions introduced in 2007 are being ignored. Teachers are already paying higher pension contributions: new joiners must already wait till 65 for their pensions, and a cost-capping agreement means that employer contributions are already limited to 14 per cent, similar to the average private sector employer contributions.

"Changing the basis on which public sector pensions are increased will cost pensioners thousands of pounds over the course of their retirement.

"The Council Tax freeze will severely hamper those authorities which want to support their local communities. Cutting funds for schools and other related services will irretrievably harm children and young people, particularly the poorest ones. The new government has acted to undermine its predecessor’s achievements in boosting funding levels for schools when it should have acted to invest in education.

"The education department expenditure limits beg the question where the government will find the funding for its free schools and Academies programmes. Everyone concerned about our country's education needs to know where the money will be coming from."

Member Response: chief executive of CMI, Ruth Spellman

"It is very telling that UK managers are most vocal about skills development. Of course, they welcome moves to manage the tax burden on business, but there is a clear message that no matter what the economic conditions, UK plc has no hope of a quick recovery or renewed competitive success without a skilled workforce at its helm. After all, if government and business can combine forces to address the skills deficit, it will be a step in the right direction to tackle the budget deficit."