The government’s recently appointed education recovery tsar will be given “as wide a remit as possible” over spending plans for the new £300 million pot of catch-up funding, the schools minister has said.

When announcing the extra money last month, the prime minister said it would be used for “tutoring”. However Nick Gibb today said the plan for the funds was “not rigid”.

At a meeting of the Commons Education Select Committee this morning, chair Robert Halfon asked Mr Gibb: “Just to understand, the £300 million that’s going to schools for the catch up with the other £650 million pot - will that go towards the national tutoring programme with the £350 million pot?”

The schools minister replied: “Well, when it was announced, it was referred to as a tutoring fund. So, how we allocate that fund in detail, we will announce shortly.

“We want to give Sir Kevan as wide a remit as possible in how we ensure that the best approach is taken to catch up. But the £650 million is distributed to schools on the basis of £80 per pupil and, as Vicky will point out, £240 per pupil in special schools.

I asked @NickGibbUK whether the extra £300m announced recently by the PM for catch-up will form part of the £650m pot for schools or £350m #NationalTutoringProgramme (see: https://t.co/cwQ9l2Jy1R) ? pic.twitter.com/ChgBLoXP97

- Robert Halfon MP -Working Hard for Harlow- (@halfon4harlowMP) February 9, 2021

Pressed on whether the money could be used “for sporting activities and mental health as well as tutoring”, Mr Gibb said the plans for the fund were “not rigid”.

“We want to make sure that that extra £300 million is used in the most effective way. And we’ll be making announcements about that shortly, but we will also be leaning on the advice of Sir Kevan Collins, who is very experienced in education,” he said.