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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 2024–25 in today’s prices or about 4.1% of national income.

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Education spending - Reports, comment pieces and more

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Why 2025 is a critical year for FE funding

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Our latest report on education spending in England shows how further education has faced some of the deepest funding cuts across the education system.

9 January 2025

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Stages of education

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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.

17 January 2025

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Schools

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The government has chosen to increase school spending in England at recent spending reviews.

17 January 2025

Sixth form college

Further education and sixth forms

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Across all areas of education spending, further education and skills saw the largest spending cuts in the decade after 2010.

17 January 2025

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Higher education

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The government pays around £22 billion to fund the education of each cohort of English-domiciled full-time undergraduate students studying in the UK.

17 January 2025

Adult education class

Adult education and skills

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Few areas of public policy have experienced as much change as adult education and skills.

17 January 2025

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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