Sandra Overend MLA, Ulster Unionist Education spokesperson, has questioned where the priorities of the Executive really lie. During a Ministerial Statement today on October Monitoring by the Finance Minister Sandra asked him to commit to giving schools more freedom in how they can spend their own budgets.

Mrs Overend said,

“While I welcome the £13 million capital funding allocated to the Department of Education for minor works and the purchase of furniture and equipment for schools, I am very disappointed that there has been no effort made to help schools where they have indicated they need it most - on the resource side of the house. Resource funding covers the day to day spending in schools and includes teachers’ salaries, stationery, utilities and the list goes on. Without adequate funding teaching and learning is in jeopardy.

“Many schools across the country are facing a situation where their wells have well and truly run dry, many redundancies are being made and the delivery of the Entitlement Framework is increasingly becoming impossible for many schools.

“I asked the Finance Minister today if he would commit to discussing with Peter Weir MLA, the current Minister of Education, how schools can have increased flexibility in spending the money allocated as resource funding. There is a belief that if schools could be given more control over their own finances they could achieve better value for money and more efficient management of funds. If more money is not forthcoming surely the Minister could commit to allowing schools to manage what little funding they have in the best interest of their pupils and local communities.

“In an ideal world, of course the Executive would commit to adequately funding primary and post-primary education and this would not be a problem for our schools. While the proportion of the Executives total non-ring fenced resource funding has increased in cash terms from 2010-11 to 2016-17, the proportion of the total allocated to the Department of Education has actually fallen.

“Where are the Executive’s priorities?”