The Accidental Terrorist

Summer reading idea. Erm, my novel. Available on Amazon.

Pupil Premium

Up pops an email from Sarah Teather MP spreading the good news of the pupil premium that will give £430 per year to students on free school meals from April next year. This money goes direct to the school and can be used by the Head Teacher to pay for one to one tuition, after-school clubs or breakfast clubs.

I'm a little underwhelmed by the amount. Lets take a look at the sums: at an inner London primary school with 30% free school meal children that means an extra £50,000 per year. This compares to a typical annual school budget of just over £2 million pounds or £5000 per year spent on each child. For comparison the average fee for a private school place for age 5-11 is £8,000 per year. One key indicator that reflects this is that class sizes are half the size in private schools, who are of course very picky about taking children with learning disabilities.

For the individual child on free school meals who receives the benefit of the pupil premium, this means just over £10 will be available to be spent per week over a 39 week school year. This will pay for maybe one hour's one to one tuition or an extra after school club session.

However, it is to increase over the next three years. Judging the government figures it will rise from a total of £625 million in 2011-12 to £2.5 bn in 2014-15. An increase of £625 million each year. So in three year's time there'll be £40 spend per poorest child per school week.

The real elephant in the room remains the gap between state school funding of schools and the private sector fees. I can't see how the pupil premium as it is will bridge the gulf that starts at primary level and widens thereon.

War on a class already taxed to the hilt

Good commentary from Peter Oborne. If you want a solution - look in the mirror.

How David Cameron gets around with his family

From Register of Members Interests:

CAMERON, Rt Hon David (Witney)

Gifts, benefits and hospitality

16 August 2008, private plane from Farnborough to Istanbul for my wife and two children. Then from Istanbul to Santorini, and return to Dalaman, for myself, my wife and two children; provided by Matthew Freud, of London. (Registered 15 September 2008)

Keeping it in the family

List of the large number of family members employed by UK MP's. To give you an idea, here's how it starts:

AINGER, Nick (Camarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)

I employ my wife, Sally Ainger, as Senior Caseworker.

AINSWORTH, Bob (Coventry North East)

I employ my wife, Gloria Ainsworth, as part-time Caseworker/Secretarial Assistant.

AMESS, David (Southend West)

I employ my wife, Julia Amess, as part-time Secretary/Caseworker.

ANDERSON, Janet (Rossendale and Darwen)

I employ my son, David Humphreys, as Research/Parliamentary Assistant.

ATKINS, Charlotte (Staffordshire Moorlands)

I employ my husband, Gus Brain, as part-time Senior Research/Parliamentary Assistant.

ATKINSON, Peter (Hexham)

I employ my wife, Brione Atkinson, as part-time Office Manager/Executive Secretary.

Etc.

Auditors Bribe Tories

From Craig Murray:

The entire Western accounting system is based on the compliance of morally corrupt little pen pushers. The fact that it is the company which chooses its own accountants and auditors, who have a vested interest in keeping their mouths shut and are never prosecuted when a scheme folds (along with the hopes and savings of millions of investors), is a scandal.

Our jails should hold less desperate social security scammers, and a great many more accountants.

Damn right

From Craig Murray:

Purnell's instincts towards social security were precisely those of Norman Tebbit, only mingled with less compassion. He attempted in effect to reintroduce the Victorian distinction between the deserving and undeserving poor, opposition to which was one of the founding motives of the Labour Party. Like Blair, he had no left wing beliefs, but saw the takeover of a moribund Labour Party as a simple career opportunity.

I remember him being quoted in the FT a while ago saying, as far as the DWP was concerned 'everything is up for sale' in terms of private companies running whole parts of the state. There'll always be a place for him at the IMF.