Education Secretary David Blunkett was today urged to launch an immediate inquiry into Bradford's budget plans for schools in the forthcoming year.

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, claims schools are to be short-changed by Bradford education chiefs in the next financial year - an allegation strongly refuted by the authority.

The Government has insisted that Bradford spends £9.5m extra on schools out of the Council's £442m budget.

But Mr Hart has written to Mr Blunkett naming Bradford as one of seven authorities that were not planning to spend the extra cash on schools.

"The additional money for education in next year's budget is not going to find its way into schools despite the Government's declared wishes," he said.

"This could seriously undermine the Government's drive for higher standards and do little to improve motivation in schools."

He said the situation was serious enough to warrant an urgent inquiry by the Department for Education into Bradford's budget plans, along with Barnsley, Durham, Northumberland, Plymouth, and Waltham Forest and Southwark in London.

But Labour education chairman Jim Flood said: "The authority has agreed to spend all the extra £9.5m received from the Government directly on schools and to protect the education budget by making savings in other areas.

"Now, for the first time in a long time there will be some real-term growth in our schools' budget and we are hopeful that before long this will begin to have a knock-on effect on the standard of education in the district."

But Conservatives on Bradford Council have backed the call for an inquiry.

Deputy leader Richard Wightman said only £1.5m extra was being set aside for education, the other £8m had been absorbed by pay and price rises which had already been accounted for in the Council's earlier calculations.

"Mr Blunkett said £9.5m should be spent on new resources for schools but that £8m only maintains existing levels in education. It is not growth, it will not pay for a single new teacher or a single new book as Mr Blunkett intended it to," he claimed.

Headteachers in Bradford have not yet had the official budget figures from the Council for 1998/99. They will learn the full details at a meeting on Monday.

A Department for Education spokesman said: "Mr Blunkett will be looking closely at what is happening in each locality."

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