MP steps into schools cash row

The new Labour MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire has joined the West Berkshire schools cash claw back row.

Olivia Bailey has written to the leader of West Berkshire Council demanding answers, after being lobbied by concerned parents and teachers.

She says the decision to pull the claw back forward to this year has put schools in a difficult position with regard to current and future spending commitments.

The whole thing pegs around the £9m deficit in the schools high needs budget block.  West Berkshire Council is not alone in this with many councils across England reporting deficits.

But Ms Bailey says no substantive discussions around block transfers seem to have taken place until December last year, and says it is clear from the minutes of that meeting that this lack of foresight led members of the Schools Forum feeling there was a lack of credibility in the process and they were being ‘bounced’ into making a decision.

But the council has doubled down on its decision to claw back, saying since 2015, the amount of funding schools have been keeping without any spending plans has more than tripled from £4m to £13.4m.   

However, only £2.8m is earmarked for returning to the council’s account.

Despite outcry from The Downs School, furious that £490k of its own fundraised cash was being called in, the council issued a statement saying the schools forum – which is made up of school representatives and not politicians – agreed to the claw backs being brought forward a year.

“This is a decision which has been taken collectively by schools and not West Berkshire Council,” it says.

It says each year schools are given a grant from the government to spend on running the school. 

“Funding should be used during the year for the benefit of pupils, but schools will sometimes carry some forward from year to year to allow for unseen contingencies or for development funds to put towards capital projects,” it adds.

But the council, which is now saying it will use the cash to shore up threatened ‘non statutory’ child mental health support services, says the claw back applies to Government funding provided to the school and not to money raised through fundraising by or on behalf of the school. 

Auditors were sent to The Downs School, which the council claims had fundraised money sitting in the same account as the grant monies paid by government, and that cash should have been in a separate account.

The school has taken legal advice on the matter.

“It is not the intention of West Berkshire Council or the Schools Forum to take income which has been raised by or on behalf of the school and which should be kept in a separate account to the grant funding,” said the council. 

The council says schools will have the opportunity to provide financial information to show the source of accrued funds, which will be considered by the council before any funding is returned for redistribution.

“This move will allow for a fairer and more productive use of the money – in my view it’s the right thing to do for our residents,” said Heather Codling (Lib Dem, Chieveley & Cold Ash), executive member for children and family services.

But the row has also taken a political turn with opposition councillors furious at the heavy handed methods used.

“I have spoken to three headteachers in the last couple of days and all have been reduced to tears over this,” said David Marsh (Green, Wash Common).

“They are being asked to make in-year cuts to budgets that had been approved by the council and are literally agonising over what cuts will have the least effect on their children.

“I find the lack of empathy and understanding shown by the council towards schools quite staggering.

“Today’s comment by councillor Codling, that “this is money sitting in accounts without appearing to provide any benefit to our young people” is grotesquely inaccurate and deeply offensive. She should apologise.”

He wants to know why the council waited until the last full week of the school year to do this.

“They were clearly hoping that everyone would go off for the summer holidays and it would all blow over,” he adds.

“We were told that the money clawed back would be used to reduce the High Needs Block deficit, which currently stands at £9 million.

“How can it be fair or proportionate to take £11,000, which is a significant sum for Victoria Park nursery, and transfer it to fill a £9 million black hole where it is a tiny drop in the ocean?

“We all want to see SEND provision through the High Needs budget to be increased, but even if the claw back raises the £2.8 million, which is doubtful, that will still leave a £6 million black hole. There will be nothing to claw back next year: it’s a one-off smash-and-grab.”

The Conservative group has garnered enough support to force an extraordinary meeting of the council to discuss the matter.