Merton schoolkids losing out, says councillor (From Wimbledon Guardian)

Merton schoolkids losing out, says councillor

5:10pm Friday 20th November 2009

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A Merton councillor has accused the Government of shortchanging the borough’s schools by £71 per pupil.

Debbie Shears, cabinet member for children's services, said an unfair funding formula meant Merton lost out on enough cash to pay for 35 teachers a year.

Merton is one of six borough’s which is legally obliged to pay teachers an inner London salary weighting but does not receive any extra cash from the Government to fund this.

Coun Shears said Merton lost out on £1.23m a year as a result - a figure that has been rising since the problem began about 15 years ago.

She said: “It just seems to be getting worse, particularly with the budget pressures from central Government.”

Coun Shears said she would step up efforts to lobby the Government, and has asked Merton’s MPs to help to tackle the issue. But she admitted change was unlikely to happen in the next few years.

She said: “I don’t think we are going to get any answers but we will keep pushing.”

Other boroughs affected by the shortfall are Brent, Ealing, Newham, Waltham Forest and Haringey.

Schools Minister Diana Johnson admitted the boroughs were in a “difficult position” in Parliament last week. She said: “We want to reach a funding formula that distributes funding based on the need of each school and each local authority rather than on historical spend.

“That’s why we are currently undertaking a review into the way that the Dedicated School Grant is distributed - and one of the key issues that we are looking at is the Area Cost Adjustment.”

She said a consultation to be published in January would outline changes to school funding, and the Government would consider the complaints of the six affected boroughs.

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