BY the time you read this column the Chancellor will have given his Autumn Statement, and he will have made some difficult choices about how we spend public money.

One area I have been clear we must not cut, and actually needs more investment, is our schools’ budget. I saw for myself during my stint as education secretary the huge efforts our teachers, staff and children are making in rectifying the damage caused by Covid-19. We can see this damage most sharply in the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils, which is understandably at its widest in a decade, following the pandemic.

That’s why, this week I rallied the support of fellow MPs — including my entire ministerial team from the Department for Education as well as six former cabinet ministers, and former junior ministers — to write to the Chancellor telling him it would not be morally right to cut the schools’ budget.

The current pressure on the sector is significant and real. General inflation, increased energy costs and an unfunded pay award, are having a severe impact. Many schools and colleges have already been forced to examine their staffing levels and non-core activities. Just as our education system is recovering well, we must not do anything to damage it further.

The Chancellor has a big job on his hands this week. We all appreciate the need for sound money and fiscal responsibility. Nonetheless, protecting and enhancing education funding is not a hard decision to make. We owe it to the children of our country to put them first even in times of financial hardship, as so many families already do every day.