Douglas Alexander, Labour’s election co-ordinator, and Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, have cast light on inconsistencies in the Conservatives’ plans to allow charities and parents to set up new schools.
Speaking to the BBC on 26 April, Paul Carter, leader of Kent County Council, appears to have confirmed Labour claims that, under the plans, budgets of other state-sector schools would be threatened. He has said:
At the moment the more academies and free schools you operate, under the current academy funding arrangements, the less maintained schools would get.
Secondary schools are around £4,000 plus per pupil. If 10 per cent, 12 per cent, 15 per cent of that would be taken away from maintained schools and given to free schools and academies — local authorities still have statutory functions to perform.
They have to arrange and organise school admissions, statements for special educational needs pupils — a whole range or services that need paying for.
That can’t be taken away from us and given to free schools or academies, because they don’t have the statutory duty to carry out these responsibilities.
The previous day, Balls had said that he regarded David Cameron’s message as “deeply dishonest”. Now the Tories — specifically Michael Gove, their shadow schools minister — will have to address the concerns, and say where the savings will be found to protect existing schools’ budgets.
PS: Alexander aimed an amusing aside at Nick Clegg, whom he accused of obsessing over his own job while Labour focused on the country’s jobs. He added that Clegg may have been “intoxicated with the publicity he has received” in recent days.
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