Powys school funding: Tories tell Lib Dem MP to talk to minister

The way Powys allocates cash between schools has been changed in a bid to make it fairer

A newly-elected MP is being criticised for wanting to raise school funding issues with Powys County Council.

Lib Dem Jane Dodds, who won the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, said it was a major issue on the doorstep.

She claims the Independent/Tory-run council is not sharing the cash fairly between schools, leaving some short.

Conservative councillors claim Powys is underfunded, and point the finger at Wales' education minister Kirsty Williams, a Lib Dem like Ms Dodds.

The Welsh Government said it was for local authorities to decide how to allocate funding to their schools.

Shortly after winning her seat from the Conservatives, Ms Dodds made a joint statement with the council's Lib Dem group leader James Gibson-Watt calling for talks with council leaders on education funding.

They claimed some schools were short of cash because the council was allocating funds based on out-of-date pupil numbers.

Jane Dodds took Brecon and Radnorshire back for the Lib Dems from Tory Chris Davies (left)

But Iain McIntosh, a Conservative councillor representing Yscir, laid the blame at the door of the Welsh Government.

"I'm delighted to see our new MP taking an interest in education in Powys," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"But I'm not sure if she realises that education is devolved here [in Wales], so I've asked her for clarification about that.

"When it comes to funding we have been at the bottom of the Welsh Government's list for at least 15 years, due to a formula that favours Labour-led urban councils."

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Ms Dodds said it was "disappointing that Conservatives are choosing to attack me for doing what any responsible MP would do, addressing concerns raised with me about the funding of children's education".

A Welsh Government spokesperson said it continued to prioritise education spending, despite "substantial cuts" to overall public funding for Wales by the UK government.

However, they added that the Welsh Government did not fund schools directly, saying: "Local authorities themselves can determine how to fund schools in their area."