WLGA Rejects NUT Cymru education funding claims
09 April 2009
A WLGA spokesperson said:
“We welcome the report as it usefully highlights a number of the financial difficulties currently facing education in Wales. The report again highlights the difference in national funding for education between England and Wales; Wales is funded £496 less than England per pupil on average. This is a concern for local government within the context of increasingly difficult financial settlements from the Welsh Assembly Government.
The WLGA would also support the report’s call for the Welsh Assembly Government to continue progress on implementing the recommendations in the 2006 National Assembly for Wales School Funding Committee Report. It is essential that the complex process of funding for local government and education is made accessible, which was one of the main recommendations in the School Funding Report.
The Association however, would not support the claim in John Atkin’s report that local authorities are not funding education in line with the levels of funding that are received from WAG. In recent years it has been shown that across Wales local authorities have spent over the amount that is allocated by the Welsh Assembly Government and have prioritised education in local spending plans. It is also difficult to judge local authorities against the Indicator Based Assessment (IBA) for education spending. The IBA is part of a distribution mechanism for funding for local government and has never been intended for use as a target for spend.
As the report highlights local government plays an important democratic role and to maintain this it is essential that local authorities are free to make policy and spending decisions based on local circumstance and priorities. Where there are differences in funding between authorities or within authorities they are always for legitimate local reasons. In its most recent report ‘School Funding Analysis’, the Wales Audit Office noted that where there are variations in school funding between councils and within councils, they are not unreasonable.”