Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox Dismayed at Cost of Broadband for Schools

Geoffrey Cox, MP for Torridge & West Devon, recently visited local schools to meet Headteachers, teaching staff, and governors to be briefed on their progress.

The MP was dismayed to learn that due to changes in funding allowances, schools now have to pay up to £8,000 per year for their broadband internet package out of their own capital. In the past, schools were given a grant through their local authority, which they could use to cover the cost of broadband. However, the rules have now changed and mean that schools will not receive a specific grant to pay for the cost of broadband and are currently unable to use money earmarked by the government for provide for computer hardware (the Harnessing Technology Grant) to do so.

To make matters worse, the majority of schools had already set their three-year budget plans before finding out in May that they would now have to factor in an extra £4,000 to £8,000 cost per year for broadband, leaving many with serious budget deficits.

Geoffrey Cox said “The cost for a small rural school is likely to be around £6,000 per year - the equivalent of a part-time teaching assistant. Unfortunately, it is clear that in many cases there will have to be reductions in teaching staff because school budgets are already severely overstretched. This blow to local schools further accentuates the financial disadvantage of Devon schoolchildren who receive £410 less in government funding than the average English pupil. The additional cost of broadband is clearly another severe blow to rural education”.

The MP has written to the Secretary of State for Education, Ed Balls, urging him to amend the rules to allow schools to use the Harnessing Technology Grant money to pay for Broadband.

photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jepoirrier/440149090/