New report details decline in public services

The Institute for Government has published the performance tracker which reviews the state of nine public services, of which children’s social care and school are two, and their comparative and inter-connected problems. The report indicates that public services will not have returned to pre-pandemic performance by the next election. It finds that spending increases in schools are not enough to recover the pandemic-induced lost learning and the spending for local government to meet demand in children’s social care and neighbourhood services are no longer sufficient.

The report states that overall per-pupil funding increased though reforms led to real-terms cuts for some schools in deprived areas. The increase in pupils with SEND has meant that the high needs spending is increasing faster than spending on schools in general and it states that “the government is likely to face opposition from parents given they would also reduce their freedom in picking a school for their child.” Staffing recruitment and retention was also highlighted as a particular concern moving forward after an initial increase during the pandemic.

The cost of living increase, the inflation rate and the general instability in the markets means that this will continue to have an impact on how far the budgets that schools have been assigned will stretch. As we await the Autumn budget and the intention for the new ministerial cabinet towards spending, let’s hope that education is at the heart of their drive for growth.