Gavin Williamson has got his education recovery plan figures right, argues Tory peer

3 June 2021, 15:05

Gavin Williamson has got his figures right, argues Tory peer

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has "got his figures right" when it comes to the Government's £1.4 billion education recovery plan, Tory peer Lord Lucas has told LBC.

The plan launched by the Department for Education (DfE) includes £1 billion to support 15-hour tutoring courses for disadvantaged pupils as well as an expansion of the 16-19 tuition fund aimed at subjects like mathematics and English.

Meanwhile, a further £400 million has been allocated towards providing training to early years practitioners and school teachers.

In a statement on the plan, the DfE said: "It builds on the £1.7 billion already announced to help children catch up on what they missed during the pandemic, which includes summer schools and mental health support, bringing total investment to over £3 billion."

Asked by LBC's Nick Ferrari about the issue, Lord Lucas said: "Well, I think that Gavin [Williamson] has got his figures right."

Lord Lucas also spoke about Education adviser Sir Kevan Collins, who has resigned over the Government's education recovery plan having previous argued it should invest £15 billion into it.

The Tory peer said: "The £15 billion unfocussed, as proposed by Sir Kevan Collins, is an enormous waste of money.

"What we need to do is spend the right amount now, learn from that how to spend the next bit better and keep on putting money in until not only pupils have caught up but our overall system for educating people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds is better than it is now.

"Just to push money out for a few years and then it has ended seems to me a really misguided way of tackling the effects of the pandemic."

READ MORE: Gavin Williamson tells LBC 'no corners have been cut' on education recovery plan
READ MORE: Chartered College of Teaching chief brands £1.4 billion of funding for education plan 'an insult'