£1m slashed from school repairs fund

FUNDING for repairs to Oldham schools has been slashed by almost £1million — sparking fresh fears of leaking roof and crumbling classrooms.

The council will receive £6.59 million in the year from next April, down from £7.539 million in the current financial year.

According to the Government, some of the cuts were because some schools were to become independent academies, thereby receiving maintenance cash directly from the department for education (Dfe).

But the Dfe also acknowledged there had been a “rebalancing” of funding, to allocate more money to schools that are overcrowded — and less for repairs. A spokesman agreed that was likely to favour areas of the South where pupil numbers are growing, saying.

Stephen Twigg, Labour’s education spokesman, said: “This does create fears of a return to the days of leaking roofs and of a shift in resources from North to South.

“The big picture is that the cut in funding for school buildings over the next three years will be more than 50 per cent, which is twice the cut imposed for capital spending in other departments.”

One year ago, ministers hinted that more cash would be available next year in areas hit by the controversial scrapping of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

But a review to decide how to target the crumbling schools most in need will now not kick in until April 2013 — almost three years after BSF was pulled, amid widespread anger.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said overall capital funding for schools was unchanged. And he urged local authorities to remember Sure Start Centres “when deciding how to prioritise this funding”.

Government said day-to-day revenue funding would remain at the same level per pupil, with protection to ensure no authority lost more than 2 per cent of its budget in cash terms.

Last month, Mr Gove announced an extra £600 million for school buildings which has not yet been allocated, but it will all go to schools with expanding rolls — not those with crumbling classrooms.