Town’s school funding is half of those in south
STOCKPORT receives the lowest amount cash per pupil of the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs.
And town hall bosses across the region are getting HALF the amount of cash for schools than authorities in the south.
William Wragg, the new Tory MP for Hazel Grove and a former teacher, quizzed Education Secretary Nicky Morgan in the House of Commons on her plans to review the school funding formula.
He said Mellor Primary School in Stockport, which he and Ms Morgan visited during the election campaign, receives £1,000 less in funding per pupil, per year, than the £4,600 national average.
London boroughs receive the highest funding because of higher operating costs in the city. The City of London receives the most of any local authority, with £8,600 per pupil, followed by Tower Hamlets with £7,014 and Hackney with £6,680.
Critics say many authorities in rural parts of the country need more cash.
Manchester gets £5,088 per pupil, per year – but every other Greater Manchester borough receives less than £4,717. Stockport gets the least, with £4,206.
Funding is handed out based on historic calculations. Urban schools tend to receive a higher proportion than neighbouring suburban boroughs – as is the case in Greater Manchester.
The cash, once handed out by council bosses, can actually be considerably less after town halls’ local funding formulas are applied.
Ms Morgan, responding to Mr Wragg’s question, admitted it was ‘unfair’ that some schools receive up to 50 per cent more funding per pupil than other schools, and said the Tories were ‘committed to fairer funding for schools so that schools have the right resources to allow all their children to achieve their potential’.
Mr Wragg said: “I’m pleased the Education Sec- retary has acknowledged the current system is unfair and that the government is committed to redressing this.
“As a former teacher and governor at schools in both Manchester and Stockport, I have seen first-hand the impact these funding disparities cause.”
Cash per head/in total given to GM boroughs: Bolton £4,536 (£188.1m) Bury £4,230 (£111.1m) Manchester £5,088 (£312.3m) Oldham £4,778 (£176.9m) Rochdale £4,690 (£141.2m) Salford £4,551 (£131.2m) Stockport £4,206 (£149.4m) Tameside £4,717(£149m) Trafford £4,232(£139.4m) Wigan £4,527 (£190.1m)