GOVERNMENT ‘SMASH AND GRAB’ PLAN ON NORTH DEVON SCHOOLS SLAMMED BY NICK HARVEY
October 17, 2007 10:48 AM
Nick Harvey warns that a proposal by the government to take away cash reserves that local schools have built up will damage children's education.
The government have put out for consultation a proposal to siphon off 5% of the cash held in reserve in school budgets. Many schools build up reserves to invest in new equipment or as cover for a rainy day.
Nick Harvey MP said, "Frankly, I am amazed the government can even think of doing this. Taking money from school budgets in this way is little more than a smash and grab on careful schools that have planned for the future. The effect could be felt by many school children in North Devon.
"The government claims the money will be given back to councils to spend on education. My fear is that all they want to do is claim they are spending lots of new money on education when the reality is the government is spending the same money twice.
"This proposal by the government should be dropped immediately. The money built up by schools in North Devon should stay with the schools for the benefit of children."
Notes Editors:
Towards the end of the last Parliamentary term, the government put out for consultation a proposal to take away 5% of the surplus cash left in each school's budget and to redistribute it to local authorities. This money, £225 million in total, falls within the delegated budgets under which schools pay for their running costs.
Many schools build up reserves to pay for forthcoming projects or to cover them for a "rainy day". Many have foreseen that growth in school budgets will be halved over the next three years and are looking to use their reserves to cushion the effect of this.
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