Cornwall’s MPs have met with the Secretary of State for Education to ask for fairer funding for Cornish schools.

Gavin Williamson met with Sarah Newton, MP for Truro and Falmouth; Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay and North Cornwall MP Scott Mann during a visit to Cornwall on Wednesday.

Mr Williamson has said that he wants to ensure that funding for children in Cornwall matches the per-pupil funding across the rest of the country.

He said: “For too long, governments have failed to address the disparity between education funding that has left rural areas like Cornwall with less funding despite similar needs. This is an issue that affects children right across the country and has been a priority for me from day one. Cornish children deserve a fair funding formula throughout their entire education, from Early Years, primary and secondary school, and beyond.

“Cornwall’s six Conservative MPs are fantastic advocates for education and they have been lobbying me hard to ensure our pledge for fairer funding is delivered on. That’s why we have announced that we are boosting schools with a record £14 billion, levelling up per-pupil funding across the country so every child in Cornwall has a world-class education. The cash boost will mean that every secondary school in Cornwall will receive a minimum of £5,000 per pupil next year and every primary school will get a minimum of £4,000 per pupil from 2021-22.”

Mrs Newton said: “It was good to meet the Secretary of State in Truro so he could meet children and listen to the excellent teachers at a local school. We can all remember the impact on us of an excellent teacher so supporting teachers in their vital work is essential.

“Commitments to pay schools for the cost of teachers pensions is good news as are changes to Ofsted inspections. Supporting the professional development of teachers throughout their career was discussed as was improving work-life balance for teachers.”

Steve Double added: “It was good to meet with the Secretary of State for Education in Cornwall to discuss how the recently announced extra funding for schools will impact on primary and secondary schools in Mid-Cornwall.

“At the same time, I again highlighted with him the need to use some of the recent additional £400m funding announced for further education to secure the provision of further education locally in St Austell following the recent loss of A Level provision at Cornwall College in St Austell. I will be raising this issue in my debate in Parliament later this month and  I look forward to working with the Ministerial team at the Department for Education to do this.”

Ahead of the visit the leader of Cornwall Council said that there was a need for fair funding from the Government and not “fake promises”.

Julian German, leader of Cornwall Council, said: “Schools in Cornwall are among the worst funded in the country, and that’s why we’re calling on Government for fairer funding for our schools.

“We welcome the Secretary of State’s visit to Cornwall today but what we really want to see isn’t fake promises but real funding for our real children in real schools in Cornwall today.”