Figures produced by London’s 32 local councils show the capital’s schools are facing a funding “catastrophe” according to Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan.
Ministers have been considering changes to the schools’ funding formula and local councils say the proposed changes could remove as much as £260 million from London’s funding, equivalent to 6,253 full-time teachers or 12,309 full-time teaching assistants.
According to the figures, which were produced by London Councils, the biggest cuts would fall upon Tower Hamlets (14.2 per cent), Hackney (14.1 per cent), Newham (12.6 per cent) and Greenwich (11.6 per cent).
The Government has postponed plans for a consultation on the new funding formula but Mr Khan is calling for their full proposals and the Government’s assessment of their impact to be published ahead of May’s City Hall election.
He said: “Schools in London improved rapidly under the last Labour Government, but cuts on this scale will put that progress at risk.
“The Government need to come clean immediately about the full scale of their plans to cut schools funding for London.
“They should publish those plans now and let Londoners see what they have planned – otherwise they risk concerns that they are holding detail back until after the mayoral election.”
Figures calculated by London Councils using a methodology based on the Government’s ‘fairer funding’ formula for 2015/16:
| Borough | Predicted spend per pupil |
Current spend per pupil | % cash per pupil change |
| City of London | 5,525 | 8,587 | -35.7% |
| Tower Hamlets | 6,009 | 7,007 | -14.2% |
| Hackney | 5,733 | 6,673 | -14.1% |
| Newham | 5,354 | 6,125 | -12.6% |
| Greenwich | 5,300 | 5,998 | -11.6% |
| Lambeth | 5,673 | 6,377 | -11.0% |
| Lewisham | 5,363 | 5,964 | -10.1% |
| Haringey | 5,323 | 5,871 | -9.3% |
| Barking and Dagenham | 5,086 | 5,575 | -8.8% |
| Southwark | 5,656 | 6,116 | -7.5% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 5,880 | 6,241 | -5.8% |
| Camden | 5,876 | 6,198 | -5.2% |
| Waltham Forest | 4,926 | 5,197 | -5.2% |
| Islington | 5,929 | 6,222 | -4.7% |
| Hounslow | 4,967 | 5,203 | -4.5% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 5,602 | 5,866 | -4.5% |
| Harrow | 4,729 | 4,920 | -3.9% |
| Ealing | 5,112 | 5,289 | -3.3% |
| Wandsworth | 5,431 | 5,574 | -2.6% |
| Redbridge | 4,663 | 4,799 | -2.8% |
| Brent | 5,215 | 5,350 | -2.5% |
| Enfield | 5,064 | 5,187 | -2.4% |
| Barnet | 4,869 | 4,981 | -2.2% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 4,444 | 4,499 | -1.2% |
| Havering | 4,716 | 4,719 | -0.1% |
| Kingston upon Thames | 4,621 | 4,594 | 0.6% |
| Hillingdon | 4,887 | 4,824 | 1.3% |
| Sutton | 4,721 | 4,670 | 1.1% |
| Bromley | 4,614 | 4,545 | 1.5% |
| Merton | 4,956 | 4,824 | 2.7% |
| Bexley | 4,710 | 4,619 | 2.0% |
| Croydon | 4,961 | 4,829 | 2.7% |
| Westminster | 6,084 | 5,864 | 3.7% |
Source: Khan campaign
