Local government spokesman, Paul Burstow, said that local authorities had insufficient funds to afford the 3.5% pay award for classroom teachers and up to 9.5% for primary headteachers.

The government says that it has already given councils enough for the pay settlements

Without extra funds from government to support the pay settlement, councils would have to make savings elsewhere. "It's a very clever piece of spin doctoring by ministers to avoid culpability for cuts in local services," said Mr Burstow.

"We're not saying it will mean cuts in teachers but it makes cutting class sizes, improving resources for classrooms that much more difficult, if not impossible."

Mr Burstow accused the government of following the example of their Conservative predecessors in failing to provide councils with enough money to provide services.

"They have picked up where the last government left off in the way they go into this annual process. The reality on the ground is that many councils are struggling with trying to bring budgets into line with what central government is prepared to fund."

But in presenting the pay deal for teachers, the government asserted that it had increased local authority funding by 5.7%, more than sufficient to cover the increases in pay.