Commenting on a consultation released by the government today on plans to remove the £50 million school improvement fund for local authorities, Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said:

"In the week when Local Authorities found little to celebrate from the spending review, today’s announcement that DfE plan to remove the £50m LA school improvement grant will be greeted with disbelief by many. Never has the phrase ‘give with one hand, but take with the other’ rung truer.

"This will be seen by some as a thinly veiled attempt to turn up the heat on LA maintained schools, to encourage more to leave LA control and join academy trusts. In pursuing their academisation policy it is imperative that government remain even-handed. Around 4 million children are still taught in LA schools, and government has a responsibility to ensure that all schools are supported to be as good as they can be, irrespective of governance arrangements."