During a hearing before the education select committee, Education Secretary Damian Hinds stated his intention to seek multi-year funding for education in England. Hinds plans to lobby the Treasury to provide a significant funding plan for education, similar to the 10-year package recently announced for the NHS. His fellow Conservative MPs pressured Hinds to create a 10-year plan to provide the necessary funding for education. Hinds agreed to create a compelling case asking for more funding in this year’s spending review. William Wragg, Conservative MP for Hazel Grove in Manchester, made a plea for Hinds to convince the Treasury to increase funding, stating that schools aren’t given sufficient revenue. Hinds pledged to make a compelling case for education to receive appropriate funding from the Treasury. The Department for Education’s funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities was also put under scrutiny, with accusations of poor response to legal action taken by parents. Hinds stated that there has been an increase in provision, but there are now more demands on the system. Financial controls for multi-academy trusts related party transactions were also discussed, with the revelation that 59 cases of improper related party transactions worth £7m in 2016-17 were found. Furthermore, trusts will now be required to report all related party transactions and those worth more than £20,000 will need approval from the DfE. Finally, Hinds stated that civil servants from the DfE would be seconded to other government departments to provide critical support in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
