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Education spending

Education spending is the second-largest element of public service spending in the UK behind health, representing £116 billion in 2021–22 in today’s prices or about 4.6% of national income.

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Education spending - Reports, comment pieces and more

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Stages of education

An image of children drawing

Early years

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Unlike schooling, further education and higher education, support for learning during the early years does not always fit neatly into a single box.

29 July 2022

School room

Schools

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In the 2022 Autumn Statement, the government allocated an extra £2.3 billion to schools in England.

3 August 2022

Sixth form college

Further education and skills

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Aside from inflationary pressures, colleges and sixth forms are facing three other challenges.

3 August 2022

University graduation scene

Higher education

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The government pays around £21 billion to fund the education of each cohort of English-domiciled full-time undergraduate students studying in the UK.

3 August 2022

Adult education class

Adult education and skills

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The government has stated that reforming adult education and skills policy is key to realising long-term economic growth.

3 August 2022

Annual reports, methods and data

Annual reports

In our annual series of reports on education spending, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we bring together data on education spending per student across the life cycle and provide analysis about the major issues facing different sectors.

Education spending

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