Latest news with #DedicatedSchoolsGrant
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MP calls for fairer funding for county schools
A Gloucestershire MP is calling on the government to make school funding "fairer", with pupils in the county receiving up to £1,000 less each year compared to other parts of England. Cameron Thomas, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tewkesbury, held a debate at Westminster Hall on Tuesday where he highlighted the discrepancy. He said teachers in the county and across England are "on the front line of a genuine crisis to which they have been given no real answers". The Department for Education (DfE) said it will review the way school funding is calculated ahead of the 2026/27 academic year. More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire The government pays local authorities money to provide education services through what is called the Dedicated Schools Grant. It uses a number of measures such as deprivation levels and local costs to calculate how much each area should receive. A spokesperson said: "We are reviewing the schools and high needs national funding formula (NFFs) for 2026-27 and the following years, recognising the importance of establishing a fair funding system." Gloucestershire is currently in the bottom 20% when it comes to school funding. This means pupils in the county receive up to £1,000 less each year compared to the 20% best funded areas. Thomas, 42, said this has an impact on pupils and teachers, with one Gloucestershire head teacher telling him he spent his holiday fixing the school as it could not afford to employ a caretaker. Speaking to the BBC after the debate, Thomas said: "Quite literally for a pupil it means they are being invested in to a lesser degree than pupils elsewhere in the country, and it might have a significant impact on the opportunities that are available to pupils within the education programme. "But the other victims of this are the teachers. "My head teachers are having to make decisions as to who they can afford to keep in term of their staff and who they need to let go." Thomas has welcomed the government's promise to review the funding formula but said it must result in an increase in the overall money given to schools across England. He believes the government could increase taxes on technology and social media companies to pay for it. "Quite simply, I'm looking for more equity," he said. "What I'm not asking for is to withdraw funds from those more lucratively funded areas of the country. I just want to make sure Gloucestershire gets it's fair share. "I certainly wouldn't like to see Gloucestershire less funded than it is now, it's already in a terrible state and any decrease to their existing funding would be ruinous." Alongside general mainstream school demands, councils across England are also struggling with the increasing costs associated with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision. In Gloucestershire, it is estimated the SEND budget will reach a deficit of £170m by the end of the 2028 financial year. The government currently allows local authorities to run this section of the budget at a deficit, but there is currently no clear plan as to how or when councils will be expected to balance this debt. The funding formula for the Dedicated Schools Grant was last reviewed in 2018/19. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. MP banned from Russia after taking aid to Ukraine Funding worth £4.7m to create extra school places Parents devastated pre-school could close over lack of funding Department for Education
BBC News
01-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
A guide to Northamptonshire's local elections 2025
This year's elections take place on Thursday, 1 May, and all the seats on both of the county's unitary councils are up for is only the second time voters have had a chance to elect members to North and West Northamptonshire authorities began operating in April 2021, replacing the scrapped Northamptonshire County Council and the seven district and borough councils.A review of boundaries has led to a reduction in councillors for both authorities. Who is currently in control? Four years ago, voters elected 93 councillors in West Northamptonshire and 78 to represent North Conservatives won control of both councils with the party claiming 60 of 78 seats in North Northamptonshire and 66 of 93 seats in West numbers have slightly changed over the past four years due to by-elections over both districts, resignations and Northamptonshire Council currently has 50 Conservatives, 16 Labour, four Reform UK members, three Greens and three West Northamptonshire Council, there are currently 59 Conservatives, 20 Labour, six Liberal Democrats, four non-aligned Independents and three Independent group members. How many seats are up for grabs? In North Northamptonshire, the number of elected councillors has been reduced from 78 to 68 after a series of changes to ward boundaries and the creation of some entirely new seats. In the last set of local elections, voters chose three councillors to represent each of the 26 electoral wards. This year, changes have been made to reflect the size of each ward. There will also be an extra five wards added to the total, 12 wards will still have three councillors, 13 will have two councillors, and six will have just one representative. In West Northamptonshire, the number of elected councillors has been reduced from 93 to the last set of local elections, voters chose three councillors to represent each of the 31 wards. This year, there will be four extra wards, and changes have been made to reflect the size of each total, 13 wards will have three councillors, 15 wards will have two councillors and seven will have just one ward councillor. What services does the council oversee? Under the unitary authority model, almost all council services are provided by the one council in a councils are responsible for a range of services including social services, care for older and disabled people, fixing potholes, collecting rubbish and recycling or landfill sites, housing, education and planning Northamptonshire Council's overall revenue budget for 2025-26 is £400.8m, excluding the Dedicated Schools Northamptonshire Council's revenue budget for the next financial year stands at £431.8m, excluding the Dedicated Schools Grant. What to look out for politically in the election The Conservatives, until recently, had dominated for several last year, the once-blue county turned predominantly red in the general election, with Labour taking five of the seven parliamentary party also won the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election last Tories will be hoping to retain control of both unitary is the second largest group on both councils and the party would hope to be the largest after polling day. But there might be a backlash to some of the policies introduced by the government that might have an impact Liberal Democrat group has six members at West Northamptonshire but no presence at North Northamptonshire. Last year the party won a seat from the Conservatives in a by-election and they'll be looking to build on UK has four councillors in North Northamptonshire - all from politicians defecting to the party from the Conservatives or Independents. It is expected the party will have candidates standing in most of the council seats up for grabs across the country and they will be hoping to increase their share of seats Green Party secured its highest number of elected councillors at the local council elections last year. The party has three councillors on North councils have several Independent councillors and again in local elections last year there was an increase in these members across the country. What are the big issues? Across the county and the country, the problem of potholes is one that really gets people talking. Last year the state of Daventry's roads, covered by West Northamptonshire, was talked about on national radio, provoked a political row and it even inspired a baker to create a pothole have been protests and campaign groups set up in both West and North Northamptonshire over special educational needs an ageing population, adult social care accounts for a huge proportion of both councils' big issue is around planning - whether that is for new wind or solar farms or warehouses for the logistics industry. Much of Northamptonshire sits in the so-called Golden Logistics Triangle and over the last four years both councils have dealt with several applications for warehouses. When will we know the result and where and when are the counts taking place? The results of the North and West Northamptonshire council elections will be announced the day after polls close, on Friday, 2 count for North Northamptonshire is taking place at Kettering Leisure Village, where it was held in West Northamptonshire, it is at Benham Sports Centre in Northampton. How do you register to vote? To vote in person, you must be on the electoral register by 23:59 BST on Friday, 11 can register online with your National Insurance number, or by writing to your council's electoral registration you are already registered, the deadline to request a postal vote is 17:00 BST on Monday, 14 you are already registered, the deadline to apply for a proxy vote (someone else voting on your behalf) is 17:00 BST on Wednesday, 23 rules about postal voting have changed, and you now need to reapply every three years. Any postal vote which was set up before 31 October 2023 will expire on 31 January proxy rules have also changed. Proxy votes in place before 31 October 2023 have already expired, and you must apply for a new Commission: Register to voteFind your polling station Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
