Robert Walter MP (North Dorset) welcomed the news that Dorset County Council will benefit from a £3.1 million increase in funding, as part of an overall funding boost to schools worth £390 million. This announcement, preceded by a national consultation, means that the schools budget in Dorset will increase by 1.5% and per pupil funding by £64 a head.
Dorset County Council is a member of the f40 campaign group, which represents the lowest-funded education authorities in England. Bob backs f40’s efforts to reduce the significant gap between urban and rural schools funding by changing the way central government allocates money to local authorities and schools.
As a supporter of the Rural Fair Share and f40 campaigns, and someone who has long-campaigned for fairer funding for his rural North Dorset constituency, Bob has welcomed this decision as one more positive step on the road toward a new, fairer funding formula for schools.Bob Walter MP said, “North Dorset deserves the very best schools in order for children to gain the skills they need to succeed in life. Past governments have failed to address the unfairness in the funding system, meaning that our local schools have had to work extremely hard to stay within their budgets.
“This cash boost is great news and means that Dorset schools will now have more opportunities to access the resources they need. However, it is by no means the end of the road for the fairer funding campaign and I will continue, alongside like-minded colleagues, to lobby Government for a complete rebalancing of the school funding system.”
