Labour leader Ed Miliband has pledged to increase education spending at least in line with inflation, protecting the Department for Education's £58bn budget. The announcement, made during a visit to his former secondary school in North London, also included plans to enforce a stricter cap on infant class sizes, giving schools 12 months to reduce classes exceeding 30 pupils.
The Conservatives criticised the policy, arguing it 'had collapsed within minutes' and questioning whether Labour would scrap sensible exemptions for armed forces children and twins. A Conservative spokesman said: 'Primary school class sizes are already capped at 30 - are Labour saying they will scrap sensible exceptions?'
Liberal Democrat Schools Minister David Laws accused Labour of funding the plans through 'excessive and reckless borrowing', claiming children would 'pick up the tab' in later life. The Lib Dems have pledged to protect school budgets in real terms as one of their top five manifesto priorities.
Miliband said the money to reduce class sizes would come from the free schools budget, and Labour would block new free schools in areas with adequate provision. Under current rules, schools can exempt classes from the 30-pupil limit in certain cases, including admitting armed forces children, twins, or pupils moving mid-year. Labour claims the number of oversized infant classes could reach 11,000 if trends continue.
