BRADFORD education chiefs were today locked in a furious row with the Government after it was announced that the cash the district receives to create more school places will be slashed by 92 per cent.

The authority will receive little more than £700,000 in 2017/18 compared with £9.6 million in 2016/17.

Councillor Ralph Berry, the executive member for children's services, described the decision as a "hammer blow" at a time when schools are facing growing pupil numbers.

And he insisted the authority will now challenge the Department for Education's decision.

The figures were revealed as Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and Schools Minister David Laws yesterday announced the Government was investing £1.6bn to create thousands of extra school places in England.

Under the plans, £300m will be allocated in 2015 to 2017 to help provide school places in areas experiencing significant and unexpected rises in pupil numbers.

This will be followed by a further £1.3bn given in 2017/18 to help make sure every local authority has the school places they need ready for September 2018.

Projected figures Bradford Council released last month suggested there will be a shortfall of 504 secondary school places across the district for pupils starting year seven in 2019.

Under the DfE plans more than £100 million will be invested to create thousands of new school places across Yorkshire and the Humber.

Leeds will receive £33.1m and Calderdale will receive £4.9m over the next three years.

But Bradford will receive no basic need top-up cash for 2015 to 2017 and will only get £727,005 in 2017/18.

Cllr Berry said: "I'm gobsmacked. It's a derisory, contemptible figure.

"It's a hammer blow. It's a joke. We are a growing city. You can't even get a classroom for that sum.

"I'm so, so angry about this. I can't believe that Bradford gets £700,000. This is a complete outrage.

"It does not cover the rising needs and growing pupil numbers that we have in the Bradford district.

"Bradford basic need's last bid was £9m. We have more kids not fewer. It is a reduction of 92 per cent.

"I just don't get it. We are going to be challenging it, we will have to see what we can do about this.

"It is very difficult to manage these things year-on-year.

"All of the money seems to be going into southern areas."

Bradford West Respect MP George Galloway branded the allocation as a "drop in the ocean".

He said: "It does not take into account what we need in Bradford.

"It is tokenism.

"What is £727,000 going to do? It's a drop in the ocean. We need to move on those in charge of education in the Government.

COMMENT: SCHOOL PLACE CRISIS WAITING IN THE WINGS

Bradford East Liberal Democrat MP David Ward agreed the district needed extra cash but money was being made available from other funds to pump into the district's schools.

He said he plans to meet Mr Laws next month in a bid to get even more cash for Bradford to help with the school places.

Mr Ward said: "We are being given money for school places.

"This does not mean that we won't be asking for more money.

"A lot of money has come into Bradford from additional places but we do need to make the case for more.

"I have arranged a meeting with Mr Laws and I am putting together a dossier to highlight some of the challenges of schools and additional places in Bradford.

"For Cllr Berry to say we are not getting more money for new school places is factually incorrect."

But Cllr Debbie Davies, the Council's Conservative group's education spokesman, said pumping cash into Bradford schools was "not always the solution".

She said: "I don't think money is always the solution for Bradford in terms of education. Leadership and giving schools more control over what they do is more important.

"We already have schools in Bradford that have got spare places in them.

"It's easy to blame the Government for everything. I don't believe in the victimisation of Bradford theory.

"I don't think there is a southern bias."

A DfE spokesman stressed that it had made a significant investment in creating extra school places in Bradford over the last four years.

“A key part of our long-term economic plan is ensuring we can provide enough school places for the growing population," he said.

“Since 2011 we have committed almost £90m of funding for school places in Bradford, as well as creating almost 4,000 school places through the free school programme.

“Funding for school places has been carefully targeted at areas with the greatest need and is based upon data supplied by local authorities themselves.”

MORE EDUCATION HEADLINES