THE proportion of school funding given directly to schools by central government has increased 12-fold since Labour came to power, official figures reveal.
During 1997-8, Labour’s first year in office, grants from the Department for Education and Skills, such as the Standards Fund, made up just 1 per cent of English schools’ budgets. This year direct grants will be 12 per cent, more than a ninth of the total.
Schools minister Stephen Timms was answering a question from Labour MP David Chaytor.