I have just received a leaflet through my door from the Conservative Party candidate for the South Brent and Yealmpton division in the county council elections.
The leaflet states that there has been no reduction in the education budget in Devon. This is disingenuous at best.
Schools have had £33 per pupil removed from their general budgets by our Conservative county councillors. This is money they expected to be able to spend for the benefit of children in their schools. This money has been taken to pay for something that they had been told would be paid for from council funds – namely, additional support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The local Conservatives are seeking to try to use weasel words to hide what they have done. The head teachers of our local schools are not fooled. They are calling this a cut to school budgets. What makes it worse is that the council did not have to make these cuts, as demonstrated by the alternative budget that the Liberal Democrats proposed. We are pledged to refunding immediately this £2.2m cut to all Devon schools if we are elected.
I think it is important that people are not misled on something that I am finding is such an issue on the doorstep.
Antony Power
Liberal Democrat candidate
South Brent and Yealmpton division