THIS week has been another busy week in Parliament as MPs discuss the important EU Referendum Bill. It is a significant decision for our country’s future and for the future of the next generation and it is fantastic that we will now get our say. My focus, however, was closer to home and on an arguable more important issue for our local young people.

For years our schools have received significantly less funding per pupil than metropolitan cities because Wiltshire schools have suffered from being part of a relatively prosperous county.

Wiltshire is one of the lowest funded authorities in the country. Similarly sized schools in Swindon receive £434,000 more than ours and in Bristol it is £1.9m more. This gives those children a huge potential advantage and I want to see the disparity in funding reduced so that our young people get the same basic funding as pupils in other areas.

In April I welcomed the Secretary of State for Education to Chippenham to discuss school funding. I understand that there are significant pressures on Government spending, but it is my firm belief that we must move to a National funding formula as soon as possible to increase the level of funding Wiltshire Schools.

On Friday, I wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and asked for this to be included in July’s budget. I believe that the simplest funding method would be to spend the same amount on each child’s education across the land and then add the Pupil Premium on top of that.

Having a sister as a teacher, I understand that money isn’t everything – inspirational teachers count for more. However, increasing school funding also helps with the recruitment and retention of great teachers which is to everyone’s benefit.

This week, I also enjoyed joining the Corsham Walking Festival to meet some of the over 400 walkers who went on 22 separate and interesting local walks. A huge amount of effort went into creating and organising the event and I was pleased to be able to congratulate the volunteers, Corsham Town Council and sponsors before the first walkers set off.

On Saturday June 20 I am holding a surgery at Corsham’s Springfield Campus. If you would like to come along and discuss any issues or concerns, please contact Gareth on (01249) 477095.