Nick Clegg pledges to protect education spending

Unveiling the first commitment of the Liberal Democrat manifesto for next year’s general election, the Deputy Prime Minister pledged to protect an extra £10 billion of education spending, the BBC reported. It would extend the current £36.6 billion ring fence on funding for children aged between five and 16 to over £45 billion for children aged between two and 19. Clegg said “Liberal Democrats will protect the full education budget, from the cradle to college”. The newly protected spending would comprise £7 billion to 16 to 19-year-olds and £3 billion to early years. This comes in the same week that Labour’s favoured think tank IPPR published a report calling for an end to the ringfence on the education budget.