THE Government claims to have passed on more money than ever to schools to raise standards and boost education for all.

But head teachers in East Lancashire say they are faced with spiralling costs and a squeezed budget for the coming academic year. CLARE COOK reports:

IF you listen to head teachers and local education officials, the sums between what is coming in and what is going out simply don't add up.

By the time the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review was published last summer detailing how much money was being allocated for what, alarm bells were starting to ring.

While the Government reiterated that more cash than ever was being pumped into education, shortfalls at ground level were starting to appear.

"In the last six months it is not just the goalposts that have been moved - they have changed the playing field," said Peter Morgan, director of education at Blackburn with Darwen Council.

"There has been a smoke and mirrors game being played and it has meant that while more money has come into education overall, the way that money has been presented has been changed."

The spending review for the LEA was followed in December by the Local Government Finance Settlement which spells out exactly what cash is being paid out.

According to Blackburn education finance manager Brian Roles, the finance team were delighted to see that it showed increases in real terms after inflation.

Government schools minister David Miliband then wrote to all the head teachers in East Lancashire explaining that schools could expect a per pupil cash boost on last year -- an increase of seven per cent.

"But that figure never took into account losses that were filtering through from normal increases year on year as well as extra cuts and costs that were starting to unfold," said Mr Roles.

"The seven per cent translated to an increase in 4.7 per cent in real terms which we knew would keep us at a standstill financially rather than an increase or a fall. But that was at a time that head teachers were being told from the Government that they would be awash with money."

In other words, the government sets a figure which it asks LEAs to passport to a particular service, but it does not provide all the money. LEAs have to provide a significant part and any extra has to come from cuts in other services, reserved funds or council tax hikes.

So the question is where has the extra money promised to schools gone? Instead of being quids in as head teachers expected, they are struggling to find out how they will meet bills.

Chairman of the Lancashire Association of Secondary School Head Tea hers Nigel Jepson has called on parents and staff to put pressure on MPs to get action from the Government, having already rejected token solutions from Education Secretary Charles Clarke.

teaching unions have also joined force to ask how millions of pounds have seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Even the Government pointed the finger at the LEAs, particularly Lancashire County Council, for not passing on money to schools. There, cabinet member for education, County Coun Alan Whittaker, reacted angrily to accusations of hoarding £8million when a special investigation was carried out last month, saying it was simply not true.

The study commissioned by the Education Secretary to expose hoarding authorities revealed that Blackburn with Darwen LEA was average -- holding back 1.8 per cent of allocated extra cash, the equivalent of £1.2million.

So why were the sums not adding up?

According to the finance team at Blackburn with Darwen Council, there are three key sparks that have sent the money up in smoke.

Firstly the Standards Funds Allocation aimed at schools improvement, encouraging new pilot schemes or ways of improving teaching ceased. It also covered Social Inclusion cash, spent on helping disaffected students or those who struggle to engage in mainstream education.

Both together left a £1.1million hole in the education budget that needed to be "made good" in addition to almost £500,000 that had been expected by the LEA. Finally the LEA was lumbered with meeting increased pension contributions -- an added £300,000 bill. Mr Morgan said: "We have come out of the settlement very well compared to other authorities even though there are still pressures."

The Blackburn with Darwen LEA now awaits a response from the DfES after submitting a robust response to the funding settlement.