A Government Minister has vowed that no schools in Lichfield and Burntwood will see funding cuts.
Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant had questioned the impact of the Fairer Funding Formula in a House of Commons debate.
But schools minister Nick Gibb insisted budgets would be protected.
“No school in his [Michael Fabricant’s] constituency will see a cut in funding,” he explained. “As we have said, we are spending record amounts of money on school funding — £41 billion this year rising to £42 billion next year — and we are moving to a fairer way of distributing that funding.
“We said in our manifesto that even where the new fairer funding system would have resulted in a cut in funding to some schools, that will no longer be the case, so no school will see a cut in per-pupil funding under this Government.”
Mr Fabricant said he was pleased to see his concerns over the region taken on board.
“Schools have been under huge pressure as running costs have exceeded their income per pupil so I am pleased that the Government has recognised the problem and will provide top-up funding,” he said. “Staffordshire has always received less than other counties per pupil and this has continued unchecked for over 30 years, so I welcomed the new Fairer Funding Formula when it was introduced.
“But I was shocked and dismayed when the schools minister told me before the June election that while two-thirds of schools in the Lichfield constituency would get a funding hike, one-third would receive a cut in income. At the time, I told the minister in the Chamber that this was ‘unacceptable’, so I am glad that the Government has taken this on board.
“We must now ensure that funding keeps pace with increased schools running costs.”
