THERESA MAY’S reference to “record levels” of school funding is as meaningless as the other assertion trotted out routinely by under-pressure governments — that more people than ever are in work.

The latter claim has probably been true ever since population levels recovered after the 14th century Black Death epidemic because greater numbers of people seek employment.

Governments know better than to slash sums allocated to education spending, but they know that inflation and expanding pupil numbers reduce perchild expenditure.