(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will use his budget on Wednesday to confirm that the government plans to create more than 70,000 new school places.
The Treasury will allocate 320 million pounds ($391 million) to help fund 140 free schools, state-funded institutions that enjoy a high degree of autonomy, the department said in a briefing note. A further 216 million pounds will be invested in improving the infrastructure of existing schools.
Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to do more for ordinary families after the Brexit vote in June exposed a divided country where many people feel left behind and denied the opportunities to succeed.
“For too many children, a good school place remains out of reach with their options determined by where they live or how much money their parents have," May said in a statement. Further steps will be announced in the coming months, she said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Svenja O'Donnell in London at sodonnell@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Andrew Atkinson
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