Wakefield schools £2.5m worse off due to education ‘maths bungle’, MP claims

Labour’s Simon Lightwood said the ‘maths bungle’ will put school budgets in his constituency under further strain.

The Department for Education (DfE) last month admitted to miscalculating the amounts of funding due to be granted to state schools in England next year.

Susan Acland-Hood, the DfE’s top civil servant, apologised for the error in a letter to the Parliamentary Education Select Committee.

The government has ordered an inquiry over the incident.

Following analysis of updated funding figures, Labour claims schools in Wakefield will be on average £19,399 worse off, or £47 per pupil down next year.

The party says schools in Yorkshire and the Humber region are set to be £38.7m worse off in total.

Mr Lightwood said the error will cause more pain for schools already struggling to balance budgets and further weaken the relationship between local schools and families.

Simon Lightwood MP said: “This new analysis lays bare the record of the last 13 years of Tory government mismanagement.

“Cuts and sticking plaster education policies have left students and staff in Wakefield paying the price and picking up the slack.”

“From the scandal of RAAC to the continuous cuts to SEND support, the

Conservatives have presided over policies that have cut our education system to the bone.”

He added: “Labour has a plan to expand opportunities for all our children.

“We will expand education, employment and training routes so more people than ever are on pathways with good prospects building on a broad curriculum which gives all young people the opportunity to thrive at school

Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said: “It’s no wonder that the relationship between families, schools and government is at rock bottom – education simply isn’t a priority for the Conservatives.

“Labour’s priority will be to put education at the heart of national life again, and to rebuild the trust between schools, families and government so that we can drive high and rising standards in our classrooms, supporting children to achieve and thrive.

“We will start by recruiting 6,500 more teachers and put mental health counsellors in every secondary school, paid for by ending private schools’ tax breaks.”