Cornwall councillor says she will fight for fairer funding for schools and children in Cornwall

The Cornwall councillor responsible for children and family services says she will push for better funding of services in Cornwall saying "it's not fair and it's not right". Barbara Ellenbroek said she wanted to raise the issue at the highest level possible.

Cornwall has historically received less funding for public services compared to other parts of the UK and there have been numerous campaigns to try and gain fair funding for Cornwall. However, in education services, there is clear evidence that Cornwall has received less funding than other areas and is among the lowest-funded authority areas in the UK.

In figures from December 2021 shared by Cllr Ellenbroek with the council's children and families overview and scrutiny committee, it shows that whilst Cornwall received just over £6,500 per pupil other authorities received as much as £10,000 per pupil.

Cllr Ellenbroek made her comments when she was asked by Labour councillor Jayne Kirkham what she was doing to highlight the disparity in funding and whether Cornwall Conservative MPs were helping to raise the issue with central government.

The Conservative Cabinet member said she now had a plan to "push Cornwall's need" and said: "The evidence is there for all to see, it has been there for an awful long time. This has not been a party political problem but it is a problem that we have a responsibility as corporate parents to ensure that we get the best possible deal that we can for our children and young people.

"For me it is the special educational needs part of it which is most important, the fact that we have got a lot of young people with those challenges is something we have to accept but what we don't have to accept is that they get less treatment here as they would in another part of the UK.

"I intend as much as I possibly can to take my concerns higher up the food chain. I have been supported by council officers to have some real hard evidence that I can present to those I speak to. It is not fair and it is not right and that is not a party political thing, it is simply that we are underfunded in Cornwall and something needs to change."

Committee members welcomed Cllr Ellenbroek's comments and offered to attend meetings with her to present a unified front from Cornwall Council and show that the fairer funding is a cross party issue and concern in Cornwall.