Stockport Labour Group joins Ann Coffey MP in calling on the Government to deliver a better funding deal for Stockport pupils.
More than 100 MPs from all parties have signed an open letter to David Cameron urging the Government to deliver funding reform.
Councillor Colin Foster, Labour Spokesperson for Children and Young People said, ‘Under the formula pupils in Stockport lose out by £486 each year compared to other metropolitan areas – there’s a basic question of fairness at stake here.
‘It’s unacceptable that under the current system the ten best funded areas of England will receive an average grant of £6,297 per pupil this year. Stockport will receive £4,198 per pupil.
‘This means that Stockport is ranked 7th lowest out of 152 education authorities in terms of money received this year, a lack of resources which will mean local schools can’t provide the education that they want to, and that some local children won’t fulfil the potential they might have done had they lived elsewhere in the country.’
Stockport MP Ann Coffey said ‘The fact that so many MPs have signed this letter on a cross-party basis shows the strength of feeling in favour of school funding reform. This is about bringing an end to an arbitrary and unfair system. Stockport children and their families deserve a fairer deal.’
In the letter to the Prime Minister the MPs say ‘It is widely acknowledged that the existing school funding model is a muddle and that funding for individual schools with similar pupil characteristics is arbitrary and unfair.
‘At a time of spending restraint it is more important than ever that funding is allocated based on need. The F40 group, which represents areas with the lowest funded education authorities in England, has come up with a formula which would see the funding cake shared much more fairly.
‘We believe this formula can help deliver a solution. We want the children in our schools to continue to have a broad range of subjects to study, good resources to use, well maintained buildings, reasonably sized classes and excellent pastoral support. Fairer funding is integral to all of this, and we urge you to deliver it.’