The F40 group proposals on local authority funding have the potential to provide fairer funding (“Call to ditch free school meals as deprivation gauge”, March 20). However, they do not seem to address issues of rural poverty, including inability to access services and the numbers of families with land but no means to generate income from it who are not eligible for free school meals.

Attainment levels, as a measure to drive funding, need to be treated with some caution if they are not to punish success or reward failure.

Mike Brown, Governor, Northumberland.