BOLTON and Bury Councils could employ an extra 2,500 teachers if they received the same Government grant as Tory Westminster.

The claim was made today by Shadow Environment Secretary Frank Dobson as MPs prepare for a key vote on the Government distribution of central funds to councils.

Mr Dobson said he had analysed the grant system which showed that if every local education authority got the same amount of Whitehall cash per pupil as Westminster, 118 out of 132 councils could employ extra teachers at no cost. Some 78 of them - including Bury - would be able to emply one thousand extra teachers and 55 of these, including Bolton, more than 1,500.

Mr Dobson said that Bury would be able to afford 599 primary teachers and 442 secondary teachers, making a total of 1,041 at no extra cost.

Bolton would be able to afford 862 primary teachers and 639 secondary teachers, a total of 1,501.

Mr Dobson said as Tory MPs prepared to back the Government grants settlement that it was vital to expose a political racket designed to bail out the Government's friends in Tory Westminster Council. He said: "No-one is suggesting that every council or educational authority should receive the same level of Government funding as that currently going to Westminster.

"No Government could afford it, but these figures just show what a racket the grant system has become. Everything is geared to feather-bedding the Tories in Westminster."

Mr Dobson said he would be challenging Bolton and Bury's three Tory MPs to vote against the settlement, saying that parents in their constituencies would find it incredible if they backed the racket to help Westminster at the expense of local schools and children.

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