John Dunford: "Most other matters are national"

He said the unions' ideas would avoid "the blame and buck-passing between central and local government which has happened so often in recent years."

One of the main reasons the unions see this as an increasingly urgent problem is that schools are getting more and more money direct, rather than through the local authority formula.

"The Standards Fund alone will increase by a third from �2.2bn this year to �2.9bn for 2000-2001," their proposal says.

"It is questionable how fair this funding is. For schools, access to this funding depends upon LEA willingness and ability to provide matched funding.

'No justice'

"Over the past few years, these short-life and unpredictable funding streams have represented a high proportion of schools' income, increasing differentials and schools' inability to plan."

The government has increased its direct funding to schools, with one-off payments announced by the Chancellor over the past two years. About a tenth of their money now comes in this way.

"It is unlikely that schools will ever receive all the funding that they could use," they say.

"Unquestionably, different schools have different needs, but there is no justice in schools with the same needs profile receiving vastly different funding simply because they are located hundreds of miles apart, or, as in some instances, hundreds of metres apart."

They also want to see a debate on the role of the LEAs and their relationship with schools.

In a BBC News Online webcast this week, the Schools Minister, Jacqui Smith, agreed that the present funding system was "unsatisfactory".