GOVERNMENT cuts to Croydon Council's grant could impact heavily on school pupils, Labour MP for Croydon North Malcolm Wicks has said.

He has joined in attacks from Labour councillors locally on cuts of £4 million in the "area support grant" being paid to the council.

At last week's council cabinet meeting, director for resources Nathan Elvery said the Government had earmarked £2 million of the cuts to come from education services.

The council has not yet decided where the axe will fall and Mr Elvery said it had discretion as to how it implemented the overall cuts and did not have to follow the "headline" areas from the Government.

Ed Balls, the Shadow Children and Education Secretary, has been told by the Government that £311 million is being cut from the national education budget this year.

And his staff have calculated in Croydon this could mean £223,000 being cut from youth services, £210,000 lost on support for disadvantaged children, £180,000 going from school improvements and £65,000 cut from teenage pregnancy projects.

Mr Wicks said: "These are both cruel and short-sighted cuts.

"It will save nothing in the long run if teenage pregnancy rises, young people who have fewer things to do after school are drawn into crime or antisocial behaviour and more vulnerable young people are left without the intensive support that could turn their life around."

He urged the council to "lead the campaign against this vandalism of children's services".