WORCESTERSHIRE'S cash-strapped schools have slipped to next to bottom in the funding league table, Tory MP Peter Luff has claimed.

In a House of Commons debate, he said the long-awaited change in the Government's funding formula had left the county council 33 out of 34 shire authorities.

He called on Worcestershire to be paid the Area Cost Adjustment (ACA) which compensates councils with high living costs and salaries, to give the county a funding boost.

The cost of employing teachers - about three-quarters of all educational costs - is higher in Worcestershire than in 61 other council areas, including Oxfordshire, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey - all counties that receive extra funding because their costs are supposed to be higher, he said.

The Mid-Worcestershire MP said that in the interests of fairness and "equality" Worcestershire should get the special payment as well.

Speaking in a special adjournment debate on the county's plight, Mr Luff claimed pledges made by Schools Minister Ivan Lewis and former Education Secretary Estelle Morris had been broken.

Last year, Ms Morris, who resigned in October, said it was "irrational" that children in Worcestershire received less cash than those in Wiltshire.

Gap has grown

"In fact, the gap between Worcestershire and Wiltshire and between all the counties and metropolitan authorities that neighbour Worcestershire has grown," said Mr Luff.

"Worcestershire has been awarded a 4.2 per cent increase in funding per pupil. The average for the shire counties was 4.4 per cent.

"For England as a whole it was 5.2 per cent. For Gloucestershire, five per cent. For Warwickshire, seven per cent. For both Birmingham and Dudley, again, seven per cent.

"And as Worcestershire wasn't getting much to begin with, that means the cash gap between us and the English average will have increased, not reduced as ministers promised."

Mr Luff claimed local youngsters receive £333 less than the top county, East Sussex; £176 less than the average, Lincolnshire; and £98 and £90 less than neighbouring Warwickshire and Gloucestershire.

He was backed in the debate by West Worcestershire MP Sir Michael Spicer and Bromsgrove's Julie Kirkbride.

Conservative MP Sir Michael said school sports and drama facilities were worse than nearby counties as a result of the historic funding gap.

Schools Minister David Milliband said Worcestershire's education standard spending assessment had risen by over £42m.

He said the county was not eligible for ACA cash as it was not among the 99 counties with the highest wage costs. Crucially, the payment is decided on all wage levels, and not those of teachers.

"The allowance is not based on teachers' pay scales because they do not reflect the differences in the cost of recruiting and retaining staff in different areas of the country."