There is a School Funding Crisis in Derbyshire at the moment.

Is the Minister aware that there is a growing Crisis in Schools Funding because local education authorities do not have the information to set schools' indicative budgets?

condemns the policies of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which have resulted in the unfair distribution of local authority grant, causing divisive regional disparities, and centralised decision-making and services; regrets that the only solution the Government has to these problems is an expensive unnecessary additional layer of regional government; further condemns the Government's failure to improve local health care provision by tackling the necessary reform of NHS services; deplores the absence of policies to protect rural communities from the effects of the deep recession in farming; and recognises the Government's total failure to protect community services, resulting in a Crisis in School Funding, an increase in violent crime, a deteriorating transport system, and a threat to important local services including community pharmacies, sub-post offices and residential care homes.

Many parents, teachers and head teachers across the country regard the Crisis in School Funding as the grossest betrayal that the Government could have perpetrated.

I beg to move, That this House expresses its deep concern at the collapse of community services in Britain and the adverse effect on social inclusion, neighbourhood renewal, regional prosperity, and the quality of community life; condemns the policies of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which have resulted in the unfair distribution of local authority grant, causing divisive regional disparities, and centralised decision-making and services; regrets that the only solution the Government has to these problems is an expensive unnecessary additional layer of regional government; further condemns the Government's failure to improve local health care provision by tackling the necessary reform of NHS services; deplores the absence of policies to protect rural communities from the effects of the deep recession in farming; and recognises the Government's total failure to protect community services, resulting in a Crisis in School Funding, an increase in violent crime, a deteriorating transport system, and a threat to important local services including community pharmacies, sub-post offices and residential care homes.

Most worrying is the reference to a "total failure to protect community services, resulting in a Crisis in School Funding".

I should now like to refer to what David Hart said about the School Funding Crisis, which is no laughing matter.

There will be a debate entitled "Schools Funding Crisis and Teacher Redundancies" on an Opposition motion, followed by a debate on developing a national skills strategy on a motion for the Adjournment of the House.

I beg to move, That this House condemns the Government's handling of the School Funding Crisis; regrets that the jobs of teachers, teaching assistants and other support staff have been put at risk; further regrets that these teacher redundancies, together with other cut backs imposed by the funding crisis, will have a negative impact on the education of school children; notes that Labour councils have been as badly affected as Conservative councils by the funding crisis; condemns the Government for seeking to blame local authorities for this crisis; further notes the statements of head teachers and governors across England who no longer trust the Government's ability to administer school funding; recognises the impact of the funding crisis on the Government's teacher workload agreement; believes that the Government's flawed reforms of school funding are to blame for the crisis; and calls on the Government to simplify the school funding system, giving more money direct to schools and giving head teachers more control over how to spend that money.

Does he not understand that a single teacher redundancy resulting from the School Funding Crisis is significant?

It has no impact on the School Funding Crisis that we discussed only last week.

Will he admit that it will have no impact on the School Funding Crisis that his Department has created, and will be of no comfort to head teachers faced with budget cuts?

In the letter, dated28 April - as the Crisis in Schools Funding was beginning to emerge - Mr. Ottery wrote: "The situation in Somerset is very poor indeed - the worst school budget I have had in 12 years of Headship!

It is not only parents and children who have been hit by the Government's School Funding Crisis but teachers, who are being made redundant in schools up and down the country.

The amendment, which we will not oppose, tries to deal with a problem that the Government have made for themselves in a number of areas, not only by taking the power to set minimum budgets but by the way in which they approached last year's local government finance settlement and failed to deal with the School Funding Crisis that we saw as a result of that settlement.

When he looks back at his 12 months in the job, I am sure he will agree that coming to the House to try to rectify the School Funding Crisis caused by his Government should not be a necessary duty for him.

Does the Leader of the House share my disappointment that we did not reach question 14 in Education questions earlier, as that deprived Members on both sides of the House of the opportunity to express concern about the continuing Crisis in School Funding?

He highlighted two aspects of the matter: its historical background - he set out a macro-picture of the cause of the Current School Funding Crisis; and the impact of that crisis on the quality of education, which he eloquently described, with particular reference to schools in his constituency and the decisions that they are taking about funding and teacher recruitment.

He highlighted two aspects of the matter: its historical background - he set out a macro-picture of the cause of the current School Funding Crisis; and the impact of that crisis on the quality of education, which he eloquently described, with particular reference to schools in his constituency and the decisions that they are taking about funding and teacher recruitment.

If we are to avoid a repeat of the School Funding Crisis of last year, moving to such a system must be carried out with the utmost care and attention.