Government accuses Councillors of "scaremongering based on speculation"

In a recent release from Wandsworth Labour 'Government budget cuts plan would take £6m from Putney schools' Jeremy Ambache, Labour’s Education spokesperson and councillor for Roehampton attacks ' Tory plans', which he believes would mean cuts equivalent to £740 per Putney pupil.

In the release Councillor Ambache, pictured above, said, “The Government plans to cut almost £6m from schools in Putney by 2020. This is equivalent to losing 162 full time teacher posts and will have serious consequences for the education of local children. I appeal to Justine Greening – the Education Secretary – to stand up for her Putney constituents and to protect schools in her constituency by opposing these cuts”.

The figures showed that the Putney schools likely to be worst hit include:

* Ashcroft Technical Academy which stands to lose £984,927 or 14% of its current budget, equivalent to £995 per pupil or 26 full time teachers.
* Heathmere Primary School in Roehampton, which stands to lose £231,656, or 15% of its current budget, equivalent to £864 per pupil or 6 full time teachers;
* Brandlehow Primary School which stands to lose £205,249, or 15% of its current budget, equivalent to £693 per pupil or 5 full time teachers.

These figures are taken from a publication from the NUT and ATL in which they have published a list of the 100 MPs whose constituencies are likely to face the most severe cuts. The figures show that of the 100 constituencies 86% are Labour MPs, among them Diane Abbott (3rd), Chuka Umunna (5th), Keir Starmer (12th), Lucy Powell (20th), Emily Thornberry (50th), Jeremy Corbyn (72nd) and John McDonnell (91st). The remaining 14% are Conservative MPs, and this somewhat shorter list contains the present Education Secretary, Justine Greening (27th) and her departmental colleague Edward Timpson (93rd).

Our request for a response to these figures from Justine Greening was passed to her department and a spokesperson for the Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: "This is irresponsible scaremongering based on speculation. It’s unfair and confusing for parents, pupils and schools themselves. We are due to publish a new fairer funding formula, and as the NUT and ATL admit, their speculative figures do not take that into account.

“In reality the schools budget has been protected and in 2016-17 totals over £40billion, the highest ever on record. The government's fairer funding proposals will ensure that areas with the highest need attract the most funding and end the historic unfairness in the system."

When shown the DfE response Cllr Ambache told this website,"The government is preparing to change the formula for funding school which they call misleadingly ‘fair funding’! The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lectures have published what they calculate the changes in funding will mean for each school and they have published this on their web site: schoolscuts.org.uk

"The NUT derive their figures from the Department of Education data 2015-2020 and I have merely used there figures. However, if Justine Greening MP, as the Minister for Education, has more accurate forecast data for the cut in the budgets to each school for 2015-2020 then she should publish it herself- rather that indulge in a political slanging match!"

On Monday (14 November) the following exchange took place in the Education orals in the House of Commons:

Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab):"The Secretary of State has talked about the fair funding formula she wishes to introduce. Analysis by the National Union of Teachers says the Government’s proposals will mean that for Hull schools will lose £13 million and 370 jobs by 2020. Is that correct: yes or no? [907255]"

Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Education & Putney's MP responded, "No, it is not, and indeed we have not set out the second stage of the consultation, so there are no figures to base that analysis on."

November 24, 2016