Government neglect of further education in pay announcement is letting down our young people

Local MP Tim Farron has accused the Government of letting down young people in South Cumbria after they decided to exclude further education colleges from their new funding announcement for education.

Last month it was announced that the Government would invest £508 million to fully fund a 3.5% pay increase for classroom teachers, but they failed to include further education college teachers in their plans.

Tim has written to the Prime Minister, Theresa May, to highlight the importance of further education colleges such as Kendal College to the local economy.

Tim said: “This is yet another kick in the teeth for our excellent further education colleges which are so vital for preparing our young people for the world of work.

“Further education lecturers and staff have had little if any pay increases over the last decade, while the further education sector has seen no increase in its funding rates per learner for years and colleges are continually being asked to do more with the funding that they receive.

“The Government’s continued poor treatment of further education colleges is not just bad for our hard-working teachers and lecturers, but it’s bad for our young people who benefit from the skills they learn there.

“Further Education colleges are key to providing the technical and vocational skills that are so badly needed throughout the country, so it’s vital that the Conservative Government think again and start giving the investment that our local colleges are crying out for.”