Henry Smith MP column, Crawley Observer, 4 November 2015

An important matter that I have been working with MPs from across West Sussex is the issue of fairer education funding.

In September I joined with county colleagues in meeting with the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, to put forward the necessity for a fairer deal for West Sussex.

The existing system which was established a decade ago is unfair, and it’s more important than ever that funding is allocated on the basis of actual need.

The gap between the best and worst funded areas grew under the previous Labour government. The ten best funded areas receive an average of £6,297 per pupil per year, compared with an average of £4,208 in the ten worst funded areas, including West Sussex.

In our meeting in September, the Education Secretary said she was sympathetic to the concerns raised and recognised that West Sussex was unfairly funded.

The Government have previously said they are ‘committed to making school funding fairer’ – we need to ensure the campaign continues.

I’ve launched a Crawley Fair School Funding Campaign petition which I will be presenting to the House of Commons later this year, and have written to schools in Crawley to ask for their support. For more information please visit: www.henrysmith.info/campaigns/school-funding

This campaign for a fair funding formula is national too, with petitions across the country being gathered.

Locally I’ve been speaking with and listening to Crawley teachers and it is clear the current funding settlement needs to change.

The Government is committed to move to a national funding formula to making schools funding fairer and I am joining with parliamentary colleagues to ensure our voices are heard in the House of Commons.

In order to be presented in Parliament, petitions must be submitted on paper. Please visit www.henrysmith.info/campaigns/school-funding to download the form. I would also be happy to send you a copy of the petition, please either email me via: [email protected] or write to me at: Henry Smith MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.

Please note that I will need to receive completed petitions, posted to my London office, by 13th November 2015.