I am very concerned about the future of school funding in my constituency and across the country. As a result of new funding settlements, 92% of schools will face budget cuts over the next four years. In that context, many schools are struggling to set budgets at all.

This is just one of the crises currently affecting our education system. There is also a growing shortage of teachers as teacher recruitment levels have fallen significantly. There are more people dropping out of the profession than ever before and fewer young people entering teaching. There is a serious danger that the quality of education our children receive will suffer dramatically as a result.

The Government must provide immediate investment to plug this financial shortfall in school budgets. Investment in education provides one of the best long-term returns of any government spending and the Government should not be taking such a short-sighted view of school funding.

There is a crisis in our education system but the Conservatives are more focused on resurrecting grammar schools than dealing with it. I will continue to argue for fairer funding for schools and a clear plan which ensures that all schools have the resources and teachers they need.