School funding needs to be prioritised

Residents were shocked that Council bosses have chosen not to prioritise money to support local schools.

At the Council's budget meeting last night, Liberal Democrat councillors called for local action to support schools by setting up a "schools energy bill support fund".

Liberal Democrat lead councillor Anthony Fairclough said:

"This is a response to discussions with teachers and school governors who tell us there simply isn’t enough money for schools.

"My own gas and electricity bills have doubled since 2020 already. And for schools it is no different.

"Most years the Council spends less than it budgets, and our proposal would have meant that this 'underspend' could have been used to help schools pay rocketing energy bills.

"We can’t just wait for the Government, which is the only thing that Labour councillors had to say."