To ask the Minister of Education why there is lower public spending per pupil on education in Northern Ireland than the rest of the UK and Ireland.

There are inherent difficulties in trying to make comparisons on per pupil funding across jurisdictions, examples of which include, but are not limited to, regional differences in school starting ages, data sources, how different types of schools are funded and how funds, including support services to pupils, are accounted for (e.g. home to school transport, school meals, etc.).

Numerous research studies have sought to provide relative budget/expenditure comparisons across jurisdictions, but for the most part these have necessarily been limited to high-level approximations, which contain numerous qualifications and/or annotations as to the comparability of data.

That said, per pupil funding for Northern Ireland in 2022-23 was £7,200, as reported in the most recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, How does school spending per pupil differ across the UK?. Based on the Secretary of State’s opening budget for 2023-24, Northern Ireland’s 2023-24 per pupil funding started the year at £6,995. By comparison per-pupil funding in England and Wales in 2023-24 is estimated at £7,460 and £7,327 respectively.

I have continually emphasised these issues to my Executive colleagues. I will continue to take every opportunity to make the case for additional investment in our children and young people’s education.