This week, Parliament held its 'Estimates Day' debates, an opportunity for MPs to scrutinise government departmental spending – including Education, writes East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds.<br />I raised the several extra cost pressures that are being put on schools, and argued that we are now at a point where a new school funding formula is needed, in recognition of demographic change. <br />In Hampshire, school-age pupil numbers have been steadily rising since 2015. That year, around 187,400 children were enrolled in schools across the county. By last year, that figure had grown to nearly 200,000. This was a trend that reflected the national picture, with total pupil numbers in England reaching nearly 9 million by the 2023/24 academic year. <br />
