A senior Tory MP has criticised the Government for failing to commit more funding to help children catch up on missed lessons at a time when £200 million is reportedly being spent on a yacht.
Robert Halfon, chairman of the Education Select Committee, said the Treasury can “find the money from the back of the sofa” where there is the political will.
His comments came after the catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins resigned over the Government’s £1.4 billion education recovery fund on Wednesday evening, which he said “falls far short of what is needed”.
In his resignation statement, Sir Kevan said the package of support is “too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly”.
The Department for Education’s (DfE) programme includes £1 billion to support up to six million 15-hour tutoring courses for disadvantaged pupils, as well as an expansion of the 16-19 tuition fund.
A further £400 million will go towards providing high-quality training for early years practitioners and school teachers to ensure children progress.
It has been previously reported Sir Kevan called for £15 billion of funding and 100 extra hours of teaching per pupil, rather than the £1.4 billion additional money announced by the Government.
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