The amount of money spent on each child’s education in Wales has barely changed since 2010, a new report shows. The average £7,000 per pupil spend is only around 3% higher than more than a decade ago, despite stable pupil numbers in that time.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies report said policy makers in Wales, unlike higher spending counterparts in Scotland, have not used virtually static pupil numbers since 2010 to deliver per pupil spending increases. It said: "Wales stands out as seeing much lower growth in total spending than that seen on other nations of the UK, partly reflecting much lower pressures from changes in pupil numbers."
Although funding has risen in very recent years, cuts between 2009-10 and 2018-19 means it is still around 2010 levels, the report adds: “Between 2009–10 and 2018–19, spending per pupil fell by 8% in real terms in England and by 5% in real terms in Wales. In Northern Ireland, there was a fall of 8% in the shorter period between 2011–12 and 2018–19.
