1. Friday, March 21, 2014 No. 6162 EST: 1893 PRICE: 51p
Coalville Times
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TIMES POSTBOX PAGE 16 & 17 LEISURE TIMES PAGES 19-26 TIMES SPORT PAGES 35-40
Shareof£17.2
millionfundingfor
schoolsinNorth
WestLeicestershire
SCHOOLS in North West
Leicestershire will receive a
share of an extra £17.2 million
in government funding to
address unfairness in the way
money is alllocated to educa-
tion.
The money, set to be given to
schools in 2015/16, is part of a
proposed £350 million boost to
underfunded authorities.
Andrew Bridgen, MP for
North West Leicestershire,
spoke in parliament about the
issues.
He said: “For many years,
schools in my county of
Leicestershire have bumped
along the very bottom of the
education funding league
tables.
“Teachers, parents and
pupils across Leicestershire
will welcome this statement.”
The proposals being issued
for consultation take per-pupil
funding in Leicestershire from
£3,995 up to £4,197, an increase
of more than 5 per cent.
The move represents a huge
step towards removing the
unfairness in the school fund-
ing system and will be the first
in a long term process.
Speaking after the
announcement Mr Bridgen
said: “This is an issue I have
campaigned on for many years
and it’s a huge improvement
for many schools who have
bumped along the very bottom
in school funding tables deal-
ing with inequality.
“In parts of my constituency
there are schools where half of
pupils are on free school din-
ners, so this money is wel-
comed by teachers and parents
alike.
“The school funding system
that we inherited from Labour
is unfair.
“It is a postcode lottery that
results in pupils attracting
very different levels of funding
without good reason.
The announcement is a step
in the right direction and we’ll
continue to put the pressure on
to ensure future funding is
equitable.
“As part of our long-term
economic plan we are deter-
mined to deliver the best
schools and skills for our
young people so that they can
get the skills they need to get
on in life.”
£50,000 of tax payers
money has been spent
by council chiefs to
attend an investment
event in France despite
needing to save £110
million before 2018.
Nick Rushton, Leicestershire
County Council leader, has jetted
off to Cannes on the French
Riviera with Leicester’s city mayor
for the MIPIM international prop-
erty investors conference in an
attempt to gain funding for the
county.
£25,000 will be staked by each
authority which will pay for
accommodation, travel of the two
chiefs and four senior officials as
well as exhibition and marketing
costs at the event.
Councillor Rushton said:
“MIPIM is the ideal showcase to
encourage major investment in
Leicestershire’s economy.
“We have fantastic sites to pro-
mote in Leicestershire.
“Our location in the centre of the
country with excellent transport
links makes us attractive to
investors.
“We recently announced more
than £400 million of investment to
be brought into the county and city
to encourage economic growth over
the next five years.
“The next phase is to attract pri-
vate sector investment to bolster
these funds and we aim to attract
up to five times the amount of pri-
vate funding for every £1 of public
funding, this is no easy task.”
News of the trip comes after the
Times reported more than 700 jobs
would be slashed at the authority
as it looks to save £110 million by
2018.
The county council approved the
jobs cuts at a full cabinet meeting
in February, despite 600 redun-
dancies already taking place in the
last three years.
Cllr Terri Eynon, who repre-
sents Labour on Leicestershire
County Council, said: “There are a
lot of conferences that councillors
attend to promote Leicestershire
to bring in investment and public-
ity, but spending £25,000 to go to
Cannes is a huge amount of money
and more than some people earn
yearly.
“There has to be something tan-
gible coming from this to show the
public that its has been worth it
and is not just a jolly rah-rah to
France.
“Cannes is a very beautiful
place with sunshine and nice
weather, but it is also very expen-
sive and when people living in cold
and damp England hear they have
gone there, it is very important
that they convince the public that
this will benefit the area and
themselves.”
The conference was a four day
event, from March 11-14, attract-
ing more than 4,000 investors and
it is the second time council repre-
sentatives have attended.
A spokesman for Leicestershire
County Council said: “The county
council’s contribution to the
MIPIM event is £25k and that
comes from economic development
reserves. “The costs were met by
the private sector last year.
“The city council is also con-
tributing £25k with £30k from the
private sector.”
DESPITENEEDINGTOSAVE£110MILLIONBEFORE2018...
By NICK REID We have fantastic sites to
promote in Leicestershire“ ”
£50,000SPENTTO
ATTENDINVESTMENT
EVENTINCANNES Nick
Rushton
CHALLENGE
39-year-old Zoe all
set to run the
London Marathon
SEE PAGE 2
MEDIEVAL
Knights and princesses
fun day at Snarestone
Pre-school
SEE PAGE 12
ACTIVITIES
College hold special
events to mark National
Apprentice Week
SEE PAGE 15
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