Nick Clegg vows to protect education budget in Lib Dem election manifesto

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/18/nick-clegg-protect-education-budget-end-illiteracy

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Nick Clegg has condemned Tory spending plans and blasted illiteracy levels among British pupils a “national scandal”, confirming a dramatic collapse of relations within the coalition.

The Liberal Democrat leader turned his fire on David Cameron as he announced on Sunday that his party’s general election manifesto will commit to ending child illiteracy by 2025 and that he will protect the education budget from cuts.

The deputy prime minister claimed the Conservatives plan to slash education funds by a quarter, causing a profound impact on schools and the life chances of children.

He said: “I am proud of the scale of our ambition. We are raising the bar on what children should be able to achieve by the age of 11 and want all children to get over the bar by 2025.

“The coalition government has cut illiteracy, but it is nothing short of a national scandal that a fifth of children are still leaving primary school unable to read at a level that will allow them to succeed in later life.”

Primary school results at the end of 2014 showed that, overall, 78% of pupils reached Level 4b in reading, the expected skill level for those entering secondary school. Clegg’s party wants to set a floor standard that by 2025 no child is dipping below.

This government has seen several collisions between Lib Dems and Conservative ministers – primarily the former education secretary, Michael Gove.

Clegg, whose aides once described Gove as a “zealot”, on Sunday raised tension within the coalition over education by claiming that the Lib Dems were now the only party who had committed to protecting the education budget.

He said: “In the coalition government, the Liberal Democrats have protected the schools budget, introduced the pupil premium, expanded free childcare and made sure every infant gets a free, healthy meal every day to help them learn.

“Conservative plans to savage the education budget by £13bn puts all of these achievements and much, much more at risk, while Labour’s silence on this issue doesn’t fill me with confidence.

“You can’t build a fairer society for free. If we want to continue raising standards in schools and making sure every child can succeed whatever their background, you simply have to invest in education. That is exactly what the Liberal Democrats will do.”

Earlier this month, documents held by Conservative leader of the house, William Hague, during a press conference were shown to offer guidance to him on how to avoid questions about potential education budget cuts.

In response to the question “Will you cut the schools budget in the next parliament?”, the document advised Hague to say: “Of course there will be difficult decisions in the next education budget in the next parliament.

“In this parliament, we’ve shown that we can protect the frontline by making the education budget more efficient and effective.

“We can only have strong schools by staying on the road to a stronger economy. But [by] putting the economy at risk because Ed Miliband doesn’t have an economic plan, Labour would put our schools at risk.”

The papers added: “If pressed: There will be decisions for future spending reviews.”

A coalition of charities, schools, businesses and education experts, led by Save the Children, has been campaigning to end child illiteracy by 2025.

Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children, and a former aide to the then PM Gordon Brown, said he welcomed the Lib Dems’ support for that goal.

He said: “It is shocking that one in five children leaves primary school unable to read well and that children from poorer families are nearly twice as likely to fall behind.

“Today’s backing by the Liberal Democrats for the Read On, Get On mission to get every 11-year-old reading well by 2025 is warmly welcomed.

“To see this ambition become a reality, we now need to see every party follow suit. Our children’s futures, and our country’s future prosperity, depend upon it.”