Portsmouth wins court action over government education funding

Last updated: 19 July 2012 12:49

Portsmouth City Council has won back almost £1/2m from the government after a court battle over cuts.

The council, along with other local authorities, successfully took the government to a judicial review over a cut to education funding.

The government had assumed that all councils had the same proportion of academy schools, and deducted money from council budgets without reference to how many academies there actually were.

Portsmouth City Council, along with others, got a judicial review of this decision, arguing it should be based on the facts of how many academies actually existed in each council area.

The initial cut to Portsmouth’s budget was £500,000, but the Department for Education has now agreed to refund £454,000.

Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Leader of Portsmouth City Council, said: “We were the first to suggest this action against unfair cuts by the government. I’m pleased that we have won and have made the government see sense.”

Cllr Rob Wood, the council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Education, said: “This unfair government cut forced us to make cuts in central support services aimed at improving school performance. We will now be able to look at protecting some services for the future.”

Date : 19 July 2012