Government is '˜turning a blind eye to schools crisis in Portsmouth', city MP says

FUNDING per pupil will fall by Â£242 between 2016-20, with class sizes rising and staff numbers falling, a Labour MP has said.

By The Newsroom

Published 25th Apr 2018, 22:12 BST

Updated 25th Apr 2018, 22:46 BST

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said schools in the city face losing £3m in funding due to government cutbacks.

He hit out at education secretary Damian Hinds, accusing the government of ‘turning a blind eye’ to the schools ‘crisis’.

He said: ‘Schools in Portsmouth have been doing all they can to shield their pupils from the damage caused by the government’s decision to cut £2.8bn from school budgets since 2015.

‘But the lack of investment is really starting to bite. Our city’s schools are set to lose £3m by 2020.’

Research by schools unions claims that 75 per cent of secondary and 56 per cent of primary schools in Portsmouth have seen class sizes increase since 2014.