On 1 March 2017 the following petition was submitted to the Chief Executive. The petition contained in excess of 1,500 signatures, which is the threshold to trigger a debate at Council:
“Fair Funding for Wokingham Borough Schools
We, the undersigned, petition Wokingham Borough Council to do everything in its power to persuade the Government to improve the level of funding for schools in the Borough. Our schools deliver a high standard of education but receive the lowest level of funding in the country and additional money is needed now to prevent their financial position becoming unsustainable, as well as in the longer term when the national funding formula is introduced.”
Minutes:
Rachel Bradley, the petition organiser, presented the petition, the wording of which was:
“We, the undersigned, petition Wokingham Borough Council to do everything in its power to persuade the Government to improve the level of funding for schools in the Borough. Our schools deliver a high standard of education but receive the lowest level of funding in the country and additional money is needed now to prevent their financial position becoming unsustainable, as well as in the longer term when the national funding formula is introduced.”
Rachel Bradley and Annabel Yoxall addressed the meeting and set out the background to the petition which related to the Department for Education’s consultation exercise on the development of a new national schools funding formula. Under current projections it was likely that the proposed new formula would result in significant financial shortfalls for schools in the Borough. This came on top of an already deteriorating situation with local schools facing financial pressures resulting in staff reductions, licensed deficits and appeals to parents for financial help.
During the ensuing debate Members from all political Groups supported the aims of the petition and thanked the petitioners for raising the profile of this key issue. Councillor David Lee suggested that copies of the petition debate recording be sent to the Secretary of State and opposition spokespersons and that Members be provided with details of names and addresses of key MPs in order to facilitate lobbying on this issue.
Following the debate the Mayor invited Motions as to how the Council wished to respond to the petition.
The following Motion was proposed by Councillor Charlotte Haitham Taylor and seconded by Councillor Beth Rowland:
“In response to the petition titled “Fair Funding for Wokingham Borough Schools” signed by over 3,500 local residents. We, the Members of Wokingham Borough Council, will do everything in our power to persuade Central Government to increase the levels of funding that our Borough’s schools receive from the National Funding Formula.
Our schools deliver a high standard of education but receive the lowest level of funding in the country. All organisations and schools need to continue to strive to be as efficient as they can be, however, additional money is needed now to prevent their financial position becoming unsustainable. Educating children has a justified and associated fundamental cost: schools in wealthier areas in the country with very high living costs, such as Wokingham, need improved financial support to safeguard their viability.”
Upon being put to the vote, the Motion was declared by the Mayor to be carried.
RESOLVED: In response to the petition titled “Fair Funding for Wokingham Borough Schools” signed by over 3,500 local residents. We, the Members of Wokingham Borough Council, will do everything in our power to persuade Central Government to increase the levels of funding that our Borough’s schools receive from the National Funding Formula.
Our schools deliver a high standard of education but receive the lowest level of funding in the country. All organisations and schools need to continue to strive to be as efficient as they can be, however, additional money is needed now to prevent their financial position becoming unsustainable. Educating children has a justified and associated fundamental cost: schools in wealthier areas in the country with very high living costs, such as Wokingham, need improved financial support to safeguard their viability.”
Following the debate, the Mayor confirmed that copies of the recording would be forwarded to the Secretary of State and opposition spokespersons and that details of postal addresses for key MPs would be circulated to all Members.