SCHOOLS in the borough are facing a "huge hole" in their funding, Bury Council has warned.

At last week's full meeting of Bury Council, Cllr Eamonn O'Brien, deputy cabinet member for families and culture, said that some schools could be left needing to cut £1 million from their budget before the next election.

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, committed last year to protecting schools' per-pupil budget to 2020, but Cllr O'Brien told the meeting that schools will see a real-term cut in funding.

Responding to a question from Cllr Jamie Walker, he said: "I’m afraid that the Government’s claim really doesn’t stack up.

"The Government is trying to say that by maintaining school funding at the same amount for each pupil in our schools and yet it is clear that they have failed to recognise the substantial unavoidable increases all schools will have to meet over the forthcoming months.

"Last year the Chancellor triumphantly announced that the National Living Wage for the over-25s would increase well above inflation and would be £9 per hour by the time of the next General Election.

"We welcome the pay rise for the lowest paid members of society but would welcome even more the additional money for us and our schools to be able to pay people without having to make even more reductions.

"In addition to this there is no provision made for the pay award for staff and for big increases in National Insurance which will drive up costs still further."

He added: "If people really want to know the reality of the Government’s claim then they need only ask our secondary headteachers who have made clear to us that they are facing a huge hole in their funding. In some cases this could lead to savings of over £1 million per school having to be made by the time of the next General Election to plug the gap.

"Whilst we will work hard with all of our schools to ensure they have a viable budget for future years the Chancellor’s claims do not reflect the reality for schools in Bury who are facing real terms cuts in their budgets."