Schools in Essex are bracing themselves for a financial crisis as funding worth as much as £70 million is to be lost

Essex County Council, the local education authority (LEA), has learned it will lose cash from the Government's Standards Fund, aimed at improving education quality in different areas, worth £26 million.

On top of that, it has also been told it faces major changes in its overall funding from the Government which finance chiefs warn equates to an annual shortfall of £45 million compared with other LEAs.

The county council has already decided to take the action of re-employing 27 education staff to other posts.

The council's school's chief, Iris Pummell, today branded the situation facing schools in the county as "very, very worrying".

The Government has this year given the county council a £45 million transitional grant to try to alleviate the financial problems expected as a result of a new funding formula put in place.

But despite this extra cash, finance chiefs at the county council claim the new formula will still mean a loss of £45 million each year compared with other education authorities.

Nick Evely, finance manager at Essex County Council, said: "It means over time our funding will stay still while other authorities get more money in line with inflation. We will end up £45 million short compared with other authorities."

Published Tuesday, April 8, 2003

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