Firstly, Mr Ogle may want to reflect on who makes the decisions in North Tyneside Council. Labour may have the majority in the council but the Conservative Mayor makes the decisions. For instance, I didn’t make the decision to withdraw funding from Priory and I’m not responsible for the actions of the Local Education Authority.

Dear Editor,

Firstly, Mr Ogle may want to reflect on who makes the decisions in North Tyneside Council. Labour may have the majority in the council but the Conservative Mayor makes the decisions. For instance, I didn’t make the decision to withdraw funding from Priory and I’m not responsible for the actions of the Local Education Authority. So in future, if he wants to accuse ‘the authority of being petty’ he needs to be clear about who is directing his ire at.

Secondly, instead of conducting his discussions through the letter’s pages, why doesn’t he just answer the reasonable questions posed by all political parties in the council? I’m sure the public who have been contacting their elected members in a steady stream would welcome his answers. The issues do not just revolve around these two schools, it is much bigger and deals with education across the Borough.

Thirdly, Mr Ogle goes into great detail about the finance of his school and compares against what other schools receive. Again the facts are in front of him – The current conservative Government introduced the Pupil Premium in April 2011, and is paid to local authorities by means of a specific grant based on January 2011 school census figures for pupils registered as eligible for Free School Meals in reception to Year 11.

Clearly Mr Ogle indicates that he is dissatisfied with the funding for his school but the proposal that he is supporting will not change the Pupil Formula funding as laid down by Government, he does not make a case for going forward and what benefits there will be for the children of North Tyneside. He attempts to compare a school in my ward as though it was doing something wrong, when in fact all schools in North Tyneside are aware of how the funding formulas operate and collaborate with each other for a common set of goals.

Frankly, we now just need the answers to the questions raised over the past 6 weeks which currently remain hidden from the public gaze. Hopefully everyone will be able to see who has been involved and how the decisions have been considered and also if the decisions were made free from any declarable individual interests.

Yours faithfully

Jim Allan