Shropshire Star: The root of the problem should be addressed

This was in tonight's Shropshire Star ...

The root of the problem should be addressed

Daniel Kawczynski is right to be concerned about the funding of schools in Shropshire but fails to address the root cause of the problem.

On the 11th December in Parliament he said “Coleham primary school in Shrewsbury receives, on average, £711 less per pupil than the national average”. Is this £711 less than the English national average or the UK national average?

English schools are already at a disadvantage because the British government doesn’t spend as much on education in England as the Scottish Parliament does north of the border. The Scottish Parliament can afford to spend more because of the £11.3bn annual subsidy it gets from the English taxpayer under the Barnett Formula.

What the Scottish Parliament has done for Scotland in the last few years has shown the indisputable benefit of having a devolved national government – something a succession of Scottish ministers (including Gordon Brown) have continued to deny
to the English.

Gordon Brown promised to make health and education his priority when he was appointed as Prime Minister. Not only is he doing a terrible job of it but he has nothing to do with health and education in Scotland where he was elected because it’s the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.

If Mr Kawczynski wants to solve the problem of poor education funding he should first address the cause of this and many other problems in England – the lack of an English Parliament.

Stuart Parr
Campaign for an English Parliament