The leader of Warwickshire County Council fears the return of temporary classrooms on school sites amid a £20 million shortfall in funding.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe admitted the county, which is responsible for delivering school places, is going to have to rethink its plans to develop and expand sites following the loss of money that had been expected from the government. 

The issue was introduced by her deputy and portfolio holder for finance and property Cllr Pete Butlin during this week's cabinet meeting, his last before standing down.

Describing it as a "real hit for the council", he explained how Warwickshire County Council had budgeted for a "pessimistic" position of not seeing its grants go up with inflation, anticipating that £10 million per year would be forthcoming.

"As a result of the government playing around with funding structures, pushing money to other areas, we will be getting no basic needs funding for the next two years. That means we are down £20 million," he said. 

"Our ability to deliver new school places in a very vibrant, growing economy in Warwickshire has been given problems in terms of having to fill that gap." 

Portfolio holder for education Cllr Kam Kaur, who is also standing down following the local elections on May 1, said the council had delivered 10,000 extra school places across Warwickshire in the past 10 years and that progress needed to be maintained due to the volume of new housing coming forward.

"We have demonstrated that the need is there," she said. 

"I for one cannot understand why, when we know that we are continually developing and have bulge classes in certain areas of the county, the DfE (Department for Education) has pulled this funding.

"I think it is going to be a very difficult time over the next two years to rejig the capital pipeline, particularly in education. 

"We have a statutory duty to ensure school places for young people and that is going to be a very challenging position for this authority to be in." 

Cllr Sarah Boad described the news as "quite shocking".

"It is like the government is not speaking to other parts. They want all these extra houses yet they pull the money for the schools that are needed," she said. 

"In the local plan consultation, certainly in Warwick, the thing residents talk about more than anything is infrastructure whether that is roads, schools, doctors. 

"Can we appeal that?" 

Cllr Butlin confirmed that "it is being challenged" but Cllr Seccombe remained concerned over the impact on the £67.6 million worth of school works that the county has planned for the financial year 2025-26.

"I think we are going to have to review our capital programme," she admitted.

"You (Cllr Boad) will remember as I do the last time we had the swathe of temporary classrooms, around 15 years ago, something like that. They used to be everywhere. 

"We have come a very long way since then. I'm not sure we have many now, if any, but I really worry that we are heading back that way. 

"The important thing in a child's life is not just the education they have but the place that they are educated in as well. 

"We are going to have to sit down and think about priorities but it is very difficult. We need to put pressure on and I urge Sarah (Feeney, leader of the Labour group at Warwickshire County Council), if you can put any pressure on your colleagues over what this means. 

"The challenge we have is that we are in the 40 worst funded councils in the country. It doesn't feel like it will be any better in the future.

"We have been told very clearly that future funding is going to be based on deprivation having heavier weight and this is not going to help us at a time when more development is coming to Warwickshire."