A LANCASHIRE education boss has welcomed the publication of league tables which show exactly how much money is spent on teaching pupils across the country.

The league tables, published today by education secretary David Blunkett, break down authorities' spending on education and administration.

The tables show that Lancashire spends £29 per pupil on central administration. The figure was the seventh lowest amount in the country and compares to £81 in Blackburn with Darwen and a national average of £49.

The county spends £2,538 on each pupil and delegates 80.5 per cent of its Local Schools Budget directly to schools. Coun Hazel Harding, chairman of Lancashire County Council's education and cultural services committee, said: "This is the first time a government has produced a transparent set of figures which compares authorities' spending on education, and I applaud this bold initiative.

"Lancashire's results clearly show the high priority the county council places on schools.

"We already meet and exceed the targets for low spending on administration and increased levels of delegation Mr Blunkett has set for next year. "Despite a very difficult budget settlement, the tables show we spend £2,538 per pupil - more than the average for upper tier authorities, and the 6.1 per cent increase the county has passed onto schools is also above average. "Most of our spending is in schools to directly benefit our pupils."

Blackburn with Darwen Education Authority defended its high spending on administration - the 15th highest of 148 local education authorities at £81 per pupil.

A spokesman said that although Blackburn with Darwen was a relatively small education authority, its overall management costs were similar to other local education authorities.

He added that the schools funding review working group was considering the way services were delivered to schools and was looking at scope for further delegation.

The figures did show that Blackburn with Darwen spends more money on education than the Government's guidelines recommend. It is one of just 25 councils nationwide to achieve an increase of more than eight per cent on the amount of cash spent on each pupil in the borough.

The authority only delegates 78 per cent of its Local School Budget money directly to schools but the spokesman said that was because it was the sixth highest spender on special educational needs in the country.

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