SCHOOLS in the Okehampton area will be celebrating after it was announced that an extra £40-million is to be added to the cash boost towards fairer funding. The least fairly funded local areas across the South West will now benefit from a £390-million boost in the biggest step towards fairer schools funding in a decade. In March, it was learned that Devon schools were sixth from bottom of 150 education authorities for government funding, which resulted in a shortfall of £41-million compared to the national average. To tackle the issue, the Government proposed a £350-million boost to the most underfunded local authorities. But the Government recently published details that an extra £40-million would be allocated to increase the budgets of the least fairly funded areas. The announcement has meant that Devon will now be the 17th highest gainer of the 150 authorities — receiving £16-million extra which equates to £194 extra per pupil. Around £7.50 will be taken from the total per pupil for the Carbon Reduction commitment, which brings the final amount to £186. The Carbon Reduction is money which is top sliced by government from all local councils' schools money to go towards reducing carbon emissions in school buildings. MPs have campaigned for several years to get the per pupil calculations re-adjusted to better reflect the hidden costs of running schools in rural counties like Devon, where transport costs and energy bills are often higher than average and where running a large number of small schools can be more costly than running a small number of larger schools. Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon, launched a campaign in 2009 to draw attention to the inequality in funding and lobbied former education secretary Michael Gove on the issue. Mr Stride said: 'I am very pleased that the Government has taken an important step towards rectifying the unfairness in our funding system. It was worth consulting thoroughly with headteachers and with local authorities to ensure the adjustments have been well thought out and a 4.7 per cent rise in funding for pupils in Devon is a very welcome boost. 'This means a school with 200 pupils will receive nearly £40,000 more each year that can go towards text books, equipment and staff and will undoubtedly improve education provision across the county.' Devon County Councillor for Hatherleigh and Chagford James McInnes, also cabinet member for children, schools and skills, welcomed the news but said there was still a long way to go. He said: 'I am very pleased that schools across West Devon will receive an extra £186 per pupil on average next year. 'Devon County Council has fought a long campaign with our schools and our MPs to persuade the Government that we need fair funding. 'This is a big step towards that and it's very welcome. But our children will still get nearly £300 less a head than the national average and we must keep up the pressure for fair funding for our schools.' Schools minister David Laws said: 'This £390-million will go a long way to removing the historic unfairness of the funding system. 'Crucially, we have ensured no local authority will see a reduction in its budget as a result of our reforms, while local authorities in the least fairly funded areas will see an increase. 'The increase in funding will make a real difference on the ground to schools across the South West without creating instability, uncertainty or cuts in any local area.' Funding will be allocated to local areas on the basis of the characteristics of their pupils and schools, rather than on historical data that is out of date and no longer reflects pupils' needs. The consultation on Fairer Schools Funding in 2015 was published on March 13 and closed on April 30.