§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the points raised by the head teacher of the Mossley Church of England primary school about the way in which his local management initiative is being implemented by the local education authority and which have been forwarded to him by the hon. Member for Congleton.
§ Mrs. RumboldI have written to my hon. Friend about the detailed concerns raised by her constituent. It is a key aspect of local management that schools' funding should be determined on the basis of objective need to spend rather than existing spending patterns. The main determinants of needs will be the numbers and ages of pupils. It will be for LEAs to determine the weightings for pupils of different ages after consultation with the governing body and head teacher of each school to be covered by a scheme. My right hon. Friend will consider LEAs' detailed proposals for allocating resources to schools within the overall framework set out in circular 7/88 on local management.