Education Ministers are in talks with Birmingham schools chief Les Lawrence over claims that the city council is being forced to pay hidden costs for the establishment of academies.

Coun Lawrence, Birmingham’s cabinet member for children, young people and families, claimed that schools were restructuring their workforce - in some cases making staff redundant - and forcing the council to pick up the bill, before making the switch to academy status.

The Birmingham Post  reported this month that he had told a meeting of Birmingham Schools Forum: “This is immoral”.

But Schools Minister Nick Gibb has revealed the Government is talking to the city council about the problem, and admitted Coun Lawrence raises “an important point”.

Mr Gibb made the comments in the House of Commons where he was filling in for Education Secretary Michael Gove - who was speaking at a conference in Birmingham.

The issue was raised by Birmingham MP Gisela Stuart (Lab Edgbaston), who said: “Even though the Secretary of State is in Birmingham, but just in case he doesn’t get the chance to talk to Councillor Les Lawrence - who on the recent Birmingham Post front page complained bitterly that there were significant hidden costs in the academy programmes which leave the local education authorities really out of pocket - could he just address those particular concerns and tell us what the Secretary of State’s answer to Les Lawrence would be if he was given the chance to talk to him today?”

Mr Gibb replied: “Well we talk to Les Lawrence on many occasions and he raises an important point, that when the top-sliced funding for the local authority central services was taken away from local authorities, there is an issue about how you allocate those savings across local authorities, and that is the issue that’s being corresponded over with those local authorities.

“And we’re reviewing the position to make sure we don’t leave local authorities in a position where they can’t fund those central services that they continue to provide to maintain schools, and indeed those central services that they continue to provide to pupils attending academies as well.”