The front-page headline in the March 24 edition attempted to blame the Conservative-led Devon County Council for the funding challenges faced by schools in the next three years.

At £4,346 per pupil, the average funding for Devon children is £290 per pupil lower than the national average. Imagine how a good teacher could enrich the education of a child each year with that sum.

The centrally funded dedicated schools grant was introduced in 2006-07, and the differential between counties was based on actual spending in the preceding year, 2005-06. Which party was leading the county council and underfunding education in that year? The Liberal Democrats.

The Conservative Govern-ment provided an additional £180 per pupil for Devon children in 2014-15, which helped to redress the deficit in average funding. However, an almost perfect storm of additional costs is challenging school budgets again this year, as highlighted in your article last week.

Conservative MPs and county councillors have united to lobby to eradicate this historic inequity from the education budget for Devon schools. Please, will as many of you as possible sign the petition at devonconservatives. org.uk to support our case for fair ­funding?

A government code of ­practice has required all local authorities throughout the country to offer an improved deal to children with special educational needs. A simple reallocation of funds in accordance with government policy is not mismanagement. To ­further deplete barely adequate reserves to add to the education budget, as suggested by the Liberal Democrats, would ­create a dangerous precedent for the future funding of ­education in the county. Reserves are needed to ensure an adequate cashflow, ­including demand-led budgets for social services and the safety of our roads, for example.

The £11m service transformation budget is used to ensure that we deliver joined-up, state-of-the-art services and to enable innovation, income generation and efficiency savings.

The £400,000 spent on meeting room hire includes venues to discuss the improvement of the A303/A30 trunk roads and interviews with foster children close to their homes.

The media relations budget of £2m is used to keep you informed of the services we offer and includes representation at events such as the Devon County Show.

We received some excellent news on March 8 with the announcement that Devon County Council will have an additional £15m for 2017-18 to assist the integration of health and social care into the ­establishment of the Living Well at Home programme.

Richard Hosking

Conservative candidate

South Brent and Yealmpton division