SCHOOLS are set to receive a funding boost in the Spending Review, a Cabinet minister indicated today.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the government will commit to investing “the most we’ve ever spent per pupil” but declined to rule out the prospect of a real-terms squeeze on other areas.

Mr Kyle said “every part of our society is struggling” and numerous sectors had asked Chancellor Rachel Reeves for more money.

He warned that public services would be expected to “do their bit” alongside government as he defended Ms Reeves’s stewardship of the country’s finances.

Mr Kyle said the schools system, along with an £86 billion funding package for research and development, would be top priorities as the government seeks to “invest in the future.”

NASUWT acting general secretary Matt Wrack said: “We welcome this announcement after years of chronic underfunding.

“NASUWT will need to examine the detail of the announcement this week and what the actual impact on school budgets will be.

“We have seen too many cuts to funding and the loss of teachers and other vital schools staff, while there has been a destructive failure to invest in school buildings and infrastructure.

“We hope any increases in funding of the schools budget will help turn the tide.”

Ms Reeves is setting out departmental spending plans on Wednesday, expected to be worth more than £22.5 billion a year by the end of the decade.

The £86bn package for science and technology will include research into drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries.

Regions will also be handed up to £500 million with local leaders given powers to decide how investment is targeted in their communities, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said.

John-Arne Rottingen, chief executive of Wellcome, Britain’s biggest non-governmental research funder, warned that high visa costs for talented scientists and the university funding crisis will hamper plans for the country to lead the way in science and technology.

The Institute of Physics also called for a longer-term strategy for science, including a plan for teachers and other members of the skilled workforce needed to deliver advances.

The Department of Health is set to be the biggest winner in Ms Reeves’s Spending Review on Wednesday, with the NHS receiving a boost of up to £30bn at the expense of other public services.