SCHOOLS may have to brace themselves for a tighter cash flow when Cheshire East takes power in April.

In the first budget approved in Crewe on Tuesday, February 24, £450,000 was taken from the budget for the Children and Family department’s support services for schools.

However, the current dedicated schools grant from central Government stands at £194.1million.

According to official Cheshire East budget proposals, there will be a ‘review’ and ‘reduction’ of costs in ‘professional services’ once the council replaces both Macclesfield Borough Council (MBC) and Cheshire County Council (CCC).

Teaching posts will not be affected but financial and human resources (HR) services could be affected by the cash cuts, according to a Cheshire East spokesman.

The spokesman for Cheshire East said the money is used by schools to buy in financial and HR help from the council, currently CCC, or to source assistance from a private firm.

Teaching posts will not be cut but the spokesman added it is too early to tell what the outcome might be.

Teachers from Silk Town’s schools said that they were currently in the dark.

Sue Parker, deputy head of Prestbury Primary School, Bollin Grove, Prestbury, said: "We haven’t heard anything. We have just heard about the organisation of Cheshire East but nothing to do with schools’ budgets."

Lea Buxton is an administration officer at Ash Grove Primary School on Belgrave Road, the Moss Estate, and helps to set the school’s budget.

She said: "We were doing our budget recently and we’ve had no figures forecast (from Cheshire East).

"We usually have some sort of notion by now. Divide that money by all the schools and it will have some sort of effect.

"We’re totally in the dark – we just don’t know at the moment."

John Rowan, headteacher at Whirley Primary School on Whirley Road, Macclesfield, said: "If it’s cutting the training then obviously it’s going to affect us. We want access to the quality training we’re used to using and the best workforce for our children."

Councillors also approved a £100,000 saving on the redundancy budget for staff.


* MAXONIANS will see a small rise in their council tax this year – but would have been looking at a big reduction if not for the recession.

Cheshire East Council set its first tax rate at Silk Town’s 2008 figure – £1,196 for a Band D property – last week. This is the same as the previous year.

However, rates will rise due to increases imposed by the police and fire services.

The Express reported in January that council tax rates set by East Cheshire would be frozen.

Finance chief, Councillor Frank Keegan, called it "a fantastic deal" and said but for the slowing economy, the rate would have fallen.

"Last year, £8million came off our projected income (in the economic slowdown). If that had been available to me, I would have cut tax in Macclesfield by three or four per cent," he said.

"This budget has broken the dependency on tax rises and we start next year on the assumption that we will have a neutral budget again and any money left around will be used for services or tax cuts."

Coun Richard Watson, leader of the MBC Labour group, said: "I think with the council tax they have got it about right.Clearly, people are very concerned so it will certainly be welcomed on the streets."

Harmonising council tax at the Macclesfield rate means a 1.14pc rise for Crewe and Nantwich residents and a 1pc fall for those in Congleton.

It will raise £173m in revenue this year and includes a 2.9pc rise in the contribution to Cheshire Fire and Rescue, and a 3.65pc increase to Cheshire Police.