YORK education bosses say a £1.5 million budget shortfall could hit secondary and primary schools across the city.

The shortfall, which represents about two per cent of the total annually spent on education, has come about because City of York Council had assumed education funding would rise by the national average of six per cent - but it has increased by only 4.3 per cent.

Patrick Scott, director of education and leisure, said: "The problem is worse than it appears at first because the Government is expecting this increase to cover not just the cost of inflation, but also costs funded by Standards Fund grants which are coming to an end this year.

"This includes in-service training for staff, support for disruptive pupils, and the cost of the new pay structure for teachers."

The council's finance manager for education and leisure, Richard Hartle, said: "We are looking at the overall budget and we have calculated we are going to have a £1.5 million shortfall."

The council's executive member for education, Coun Janet Looker, said: "We are lobbying Ministers to look again at the way in which the money has been distributed."

Updated: 12:13 Saturday, December 14, 2002