TEACHERS at cash-strapped schools are being forced to paint their own classrooms - because government chiefs are starving the local authority of cash to maintain buildings.

Warnings have been made that Cumbria's schools will fall into a state of disrepair unless funding cuts are reversed as figures show the county is receiving less than half of the money it needs for repairs.

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Cumbria County Council is set to get £4,832,385 to maintain schools this year, however that is well below the £10m its own estimates suggest is needed annually to fully fix the backlog of maintenance issues.

The figures were obtained by the Evening Mail in a Freedom of Information request.

Chris Brooksbank, secretary for Cumbria at the National Union of Teachers, said the government needed to urgently invest in the area to avoid schools having to get by with patch-up repairs.

He said: "It's always been a challenge and a battle. A lot of school subsidise their own maintenance from other funds and they source out funds from other places. It's been underfunded for years.

"They used to have a thing where they do a big survey for how much work was needed and whatever it was, a three or a five-year time scale, it just gets put back.

"I remember there was a repainting survey once on a 50 year or 100 year scale - that's why teachers go into our classrooms and paint."

The council estimate comes from a condition survey programme which states an average of £10m is needed per annum over the next 30 years.

The school maintenance money Cumbria is receiving this year is £555,996 less than the figure received in 2015/16.

Department for Education response

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Investing in the school estate to improve the condition of school buildings and ensure there are sufficient school places is a key part of the government's plan to secure Britain’s future.
"We will invest £23 billion 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."

MPs react

South Cumbria's MPs fear without more money school buildings will deteriorate, with things like plaster hanging off walls and broken equipment more of a regular occurrence in classrooms.

John Woodcock, MP for Barrow and Furness


John Woodcock. "Under Labour schools were provided with money for maintenance and infrastructure improvements.

"Unfortunately the Conservatives withdrew that source of funding and they have been cutting budgets ever since, forcing some schools down the academisation route.

"Instead of focusing on ill-judged plans to bring back grammar schools the government should make sure the schools we have get the resources they need, failing to do so is a betrayal of children in Cumbria."

Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale and leader of the Liberal Democrats


Tim Farron. "The government is letting children down badly across Cumbria. These figures show that schools face severe underfunding, and the government's short-term approach will leave schools with run-down premises that are not fit for learning.

"Funding for education is investment in our children's future, and the government must not turn a blind eye to the costs schools face.

"The government's zeal for cuts is driven by ideology, not necessity, and our schools are paying the price."

Jamie Reed, MP for Copeland


Jamie Reed. "I am passionate about the future of every school in my constituency. I am therefore concerned, yet sadly unsurprised, that government has cut the funding provided to Cumbria County Council to maintain local schools, and that the amount allocated is less than half of what the council estimates it will need on average each year over the next thirty years.

"Under the stewardship of the current government, school budgets face a real terms cuts for the first time since the mid-1990s, there are teacher shortages, class sizes are increasing and changes to exams and assessments have caused problems in schools across the country.

"In Cumbria, funding per pupil has fallen in each year since 2010 and capital funding has fallen by £60 million despite my multiple and persistent requests to government for funding.

"As Copeland's MP, I've worked and campaigned for local school improvements for eleven years. Together, my community and I have achieved some brilliant steps forward in local education provision, not least through the confirmation of the new Whitehaven Education Campus – a £33 million investment which has not been provided with a single penny by the Department for Education.

"Moreover, we are lucky to have many excellent teachers and head teachers here in Cumbria who work incredibly hard despite a lack of support from government.

"There is work to be done across my constituency, and indeed the county to improve our schools, and it is therefore time for government to step up and provide us with the funding that we need to provide our children with the outstanding school environment and education that they deserve."