Education bosses in York have given a 'cautious welcome' to the extra £4.6 billion over two years pledged to schools in England by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his autumn statement yesterday.

But they point out that the extra money will simply return spending per pupil back to what it was in 2010.

Cllr Andrew Waller, the Liberal Democrat executive member for children, young people and education on the council, said: "Yesterday’s announcements effectively seem to return spending per pupil to almost back to 2010 levels, which simply shows the extent of real terms cuts education has had to face in the last decade.

“Schools have been under budget pressure particularly recently to cover pay-rises that had been set by central government, but there had been no additional funding allocated to cover this.

"Until schools know what’s happening with energy prices, inflation and pay next year they can’t be clear exactly how generous this funding increase is. There is also a lack of clarity on where this leaves special educational needs and post-16 provision.

“York remains amongst the lowest funded authorities in the country when it comes to school spending, so we will continue to make the case for a sustainable and fair long term funding deal.

"I will be speaking to headteachers and council officers in the forthcoming weeks to find out the full effect of this announcement and what it really means for our schools and young people.”