Sir – Councillor Tanner is up to his usual mischief (Letters, February 16). He and his Labour colleagues on Oxfordshire County Council are as aware as I am that the ‘cat’ has never been in the bag!

He knows that Oxfordshire schools are directly funded by Government, and that the last Labour Government did nothing to challenge or change the wide differentials in funding to schools across the country, especially where schools face similar social challenges.

Oxfordshire schools are amongst the lowest-funded schools in the country, so thereby our most challenged urban schools are ‘short changed’ when compared with schools in similar circumstances.

The Coalition Government is committed to grasping the nettle of school funding to ensure fairness to all schools, especially where schools are in similar challenging circumstances. The review is in hand and changes are expected for 2013/14.

I also stated in the speech quoted that money was only part of the answer to raising attainment.

Excellent school leadership and supportive, but challenging, governors are the essentials to bring about the big improvement that is necessary in some of our schools.

Fortunately we have this in the large majority of our schools, it is the few where we must focus, and the ‘new’ education strategy does just that.

Michael Waine, Oxfordshire county councillor