Survey finds councils plundering building programme coffers to plug 拢1bn school funding hole
English councils have sucked money from their building programmes to plug a financial 鈥渂lack hole鈥� in their schools budgets.
Research by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found central government funding for school places is at least 拢1bn short of what is required.
The survey of 78 councils in England found that three quarters did not receive enough central government funding to create the extra school places they needed between 2011 and 2017.
The budget shortfall across the councils totalled 拢1bn, but the LGA pointed out that the total shortfall across all English councils was likely to be higher.
To plug the gap 22% of respondents with a shortfall in funding said they had taken money from 鈥渙ther building programmes鈥�.
Fifty per cent said they had used money from other school capital programmes, such as building maintenance to make up the shortfall. Sixty-seven per cent said they used money from developers, 38% said they had borrowed money.
David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA鈥檚 children and young people鈥檚 board, said the government鈥檚 鈥渞hetoric [on increasing school places] must be matched by its chequebook鈥�.
He said: 鈥淐ouncils are carrying a billion pounds worth of costs which has come from other areas.
鈥淭he government should budget for enough money to ensure something as vitally important as providing school places is not funded from other areas. This is an investment in the future which will benefit us all.鈥�
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the government was 鈥渕aking every effort to stop an unprecedented increase in pupil numbers affecting class sizes鈥�.
He said: 鈥淭hat is why, through our education plan, we are giving councils 拢5bn to spend on new school places over this parliament - double the amount allocated by the previous government over an equivalent period 鈥� already leading to the creation of 260,000 new places in shortage areas.鈥�
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