BROMSGROVE-based county council education chief, councillor June Longmuir, says the authority is more interested in meeting the needs of its schools than achieving Government targets.

Cllr Longmuir (Con-Bromsgrove South) who lives at Woodcote, hit back after it was revealed that the council had been named and shamed in a group of authorities that have failed to delegate 87 per cent of its education budget to schools this year.

Worcestershire missed out by 0.4 per cent with 86.6 and appeared along with 32 other counties in a list complied by the Department of Education.

Cllr Longmuir, who is the cabinet member for education, said: "As part of our budget preparation, we asked schools how far they were capable or prepared to take on more administration as a means of delegating more money.

"Apart from the biggest schools, which have larger clerical staff, the majority clearly opposed further delegation as they were totally smothered in paperwork already and unable to take on further duties without extra staff, probably costing them more in the long run.

"The focus of heads in the schools is on raising standards rather than adding to their administrative burden," she added.