BOSSES at a council have been forced to use money from their reserves pot to make up the shortfall in school maintenance funding.

The Evening Mail revealed last week that Cumbria was receiving less than half of the money it needs from the government to repair and fix its schools.

Cumbria County Council says it has now identified more than £1.5m from reserves to help fund maintenance projects at schools due to the chronic budget situation.

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The authority is due to receive £4,832,385 in 2016/17 from the government, a fall from the £5,388,381 it got in 2015/16, and well below the £10m it estimates is needed every year to repair the backlog of repairs.

'Unacceptable and unsustainable'

The pressure of lack of funding has been met by fierce criticism, with council bosses faced with the task of rationing projects based on those with the most need.


Councillor Clare Feeney-Johnson Councillor Clare Feeney-Johnson, cabinet member for schools and learning at Cumbria County Council, said the situation was unfair for local schoolchildren.

She said: "The current level of funding received by the county council from central government for school maintenance is unacceptable and unsustainable – we are receiving less than half of what is needed this year.

"The council continues to lobby the government to provide more funding to ensure all Cumbrian children have a safe, secure and effective learning environment.

"This year, Cumbria County Council has identified a further £1.511m from reserves to help fund school maintenance.

"This has increased the budget to £7.329m which will facilitate essential maintenance works in 49 schools during the 2016/17 academic year.

"The council has allocated the funding based on the greatest need."

Funding shortfall

There have been reports of teachers having to paint their school buildings in the county and parent teacher groups rallying around to fund their own patch-up jobs, according to Chris Brooksbank, secretary for Cumbria at the National Union of Teachers.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "We will invest £23bn in school buildings by 2021.

"It is the responsibility of those receiving funding – who best understand the needs of their schools – to invest in those projects that meet their priorities and generate the greatest value for schools and their pupils."