This campaign has been underway for 20 years and the amount of information generated, reports written and notes of meetings held, would be enough to fill a shelf in a library. Our early deliberation isn’t even held electronically and has long been disposed of. Much information gathered since we joined the computer age has had to be filed away as keeping it accessible would make this website too unwieldy.

The key materials and information that is needed to understand what the campaign is about and the actions being taken is in the main sections…and generally anything pre-2014 is filed here in the Archive.

Archive

Other Activities

  • Standards Fund

    At f40’s Executive Committee meeting on Saturday 26 March 2011, serious concern was expressed over the Department for Education’s 18 March bulletin concerning the 4th and final Standard Fund payment due to local authorities. On 30 March a letter of protest was sent to the Secretary of State for Education in which f40 took issue with the way in which the department has calculated the final payment. Click here to read a copy of f40’s letter (which has also gone to Lord Hill, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Schools, and a range of civil servants dealing with school funding).

    In a letter dated 5th May 2011, Lord Hill, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, acknowledged f40’s and local authorities’ concerns and indicated that a resolution has been reached. The terms of the new arrangements are outlined in a letter to local authorities dated 15 April 2011. The outcome appears to be that these arrangements mean that it will not be necessary for local authorities to make any in-year adjustments to schools’ budgets.

  • All party parliamentary inquiry

    On 23 February 2010, F40 presented its case for fairer funding for education to an All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry on rural services. F40 was one of several special interest groups concerned about the delivery of rural services and the threat to the funding of rural schools that gave evidence to an eminent panel of Parliamentarians and rural advocates.

    Devon County Council also gave evidence to the Inquiry.

    The Inquiry’s report “The implications of national funding formulae for rural health and education provision” was published on 2 April. In it, MPs warn that government funding for health and education discriminates against rural people and that national funding formulae are inadequate, providing less money for each rural pupil and patient. This is despite the higher cost of achieving equitable service outcomes in rural areas compared to larger towns and cities. A full copy of the document can be downloaded here.

  • Unintended consequences - 2012

    Examples collected from f40 members of the unintended consequences stemming from the current changes to school funding.

  • Cost pressures

    On the 8 March 2010, f40 wrote to Ed Balls (with a copy to the Schools Minister Vernon Coaker) to express disappointment that the promised funding formula consultation had not materialized (it was launched a week later on 15 March 2010) and to flag up growing concerns among f40 member authorities about developing cost pressures affecting all authorities, but impacting more on the lowest funded.

    Read F40’s initial letter and the government’s response in the name of Schools Minister, Vernon Coaker MP.

    Post election, f40 wrote to the new Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP, to re-state the Group’s arguements in relation to developing cost pressures. This letter also referred to f40’s consultation submission and a request for a meeting at an early date.

    F40 received a response to that letter from Lord Hill of Oareford, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, who is responsible for funding matters.

  • Parliamentary questions - 2008/09

    Thursday 4th June 2009

    f40’s chair, David Kidney MP asked the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families a Parliamentary Question about how many children were taught in classes of more than 30 pupils in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years. [Hansard reference 278341]

    A written response to these questions was made by Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State as follows:

    The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries. The table supplied shows the numbers of pupils in classes of 31 or more, where the class is taught by one teacher for primary and secondary schools combined on argos near you. Latest figures for classes taught by more than one teacher can be found on the departmental website at:

    http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000786/LATablesWeb.xls (tables B12 and B14).

    Thursday 4th June 2009 
    f40’s chair, David Kidney MP asked the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families a Parliamentary Question regarding how many primary school pupils were educated in class sizes of between (a) 20 and 25 and (b) 26 and 30 pupils in the latest year for which figures are available.(Hansard reference 278337)

    A written formal response from the Minister has yet to be produced.

    Monday 23 February 2009
    f40’s chair, David Kidney MP asked the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families a Parliamentary Question whether:

    a) he has plans to control the overall levels of school balances
    b) what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local eduaction authorities in preventing the accumulation of excessive school balances
    c) what recent assessments he has made of the level of school balances

    A written response to these questions is in the pdf below.

    Document: Ministerial statement – 24 February 2009

    Monday 26 January 2009

    f40’s chair, David Kidney MP asked the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families a Parliamentary Question about pupil per capita costs.

    The Secretary of State has provided a written response in the form of the table below.

    Table: DSG 2007/08 and 2008/09

    Monday 18 February 2008 
    f40’s chair, David Kidney MP asked the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families a Parliamentary Question about school and pupil funding.

    The Secretary of State has provided a written response in the form of the table below. It shows the revenue funding allocated per pupil by local authorities to their individual schools (including grants) for 2006/07 and 2007/08, plus school-based expenditure per pupil figures for 2006/07 and 2007/08.

    Table: DSG 2006/07 and 2007/08 

    Tueasday 12 February 2008
    f40’s chair, David Kidney MP asked the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families a Parliamentary Question about how much was (a) budgeted and (b) spent on average per pupil in (i) schools, (ii) primary schools and (iii) secondary schools in each local authority area in 2006-07; and how much has been budgeted in 2007-08.

    The Secretary of State has provided a written response in the form of the table below. It shows the revenue funding allocated per pupil by local authorities to their individual schools (including grants) for 2006-07 and 2007-08 and (b) school based expenditure per pupil figures for 2006-07.

    Table: DSG 2006/07 and 2007/08