Shock as schools are hit for £10m

Schools in Sandwell are going to have to contribute £10 million to help cover the cost of a local authority pay shake-up.

The figure was revealed to Sandwell Council's finance and resources scrutiny panel, and will count as a quarter of the £40 million that the authority is expecting will be needed as salaries are reviewed as part of the single status pay review the authority has to go through.

The Government has ordered every local authority carry out the review to iron out pay inequalities, and some salaries face being slashed as a result.

It was announced last week that Sandwell Council was applying for a £40 million Government loan to compensate an estimated 4,300 employees.

Staff will receive back pay ranging from £100 to £27,000, although the average figure will be £6,700.

Yesterday afternoon, Paul Cox, head of planning, performance and business services told the scrutiny panel: "The Schools Forum recently agreed that the estimated liability from schools-based staff is £22 million. They agreed that they will contribute £10 million towards it.

"The council applied for £40 million, and schools would pay £1 million back for 10 to 15 years."