The annual conference of the F40 Campaign, held in London yesterday, saw an excellent turnout from Worcestershire-based Conservatives, including Mark Garnier, Parliamentary Candidate for Wyre Forest.
Mark Garnier was joined by Harriett Baldwin (PPC West Worcs) and Robin Walker (PPC Worcester), travelling to London to learn more about the achievements of this important lobbying organisation.
F40 is campaigning for a fairer funding formula for schools across the country, many of which see poor per-pupil funding as a result of outdated, confusing and opaque funding formulas. Worcestershire based school children receive a funding stream of just £3,864.60 per pupil. That compares with nearby Wolverhampton of £4,309.27 and Birmingham at £4,605.11. Worcestershire school children are one of the lowest funded in the country. Of 151 local authorities, Worcestershire ranks at a lowly 141 - just ten from the bottom - and gets £353.11 less than the average for the country.
Mark Garnier said: "The work of the F40 campaign is very important for Worcestershire. By way of comparison, if you were to move Baxter College from Kidderminster to just a few miles up the road in Birmingham, they would receive £851,586.50 more, every year, to educate their 1,150 kids. Perhaps more alarmingly, an identical school in Tower Hamlets, London, receives a staggering £3,056,769.00 more than Baxter, every year, to do the same job.
"Of course I appreciate that there are different issues in Tower Hamlets and there has to be recognition of different local circumstances and costs. But is it really that different? What does strike me as very important is the dedication of our local teachers, who have the perhaps easier option of working in an area locally with more money available, but choose to work here in Wyre Forest. That shows true dedication."