Bristol is set to learn tomorrow if it will get a share of an expected £200 million handout from the Government to fund extra primary school places.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has said it is aware that some authorities are dealing with "unanticipated rises in demand" for reception places for four-year-olds for this September.

Rising birth rates and fewer parents opting for private education because of the recession are being blamed for increasing pressure on places in some parts of the country.

Many London boroughs are affected, as are Birmingham and Bristol. A report has revealed a shortfall of 2,250 places in London schools this financial year.

Bristol is providing temporary classrooms at 13 schools to meet demand for places in some areas of the city at a cost of more than £1 million.

The DCSF said: "It's clear that some (local authorities) simply did not plan for the rise in local birth rates, despite having four years to provide the extra places needed. But we accept others face exceptional rises in demand for new primary places through a range of local circumstances, which will put great pressures on their capital funding over the next two years.

"We've been working closely with individual authorities and representative bodies ... on how to assist those with the greatest needs."

It is thought the funding to pay for building extra classrooms will be announced in the Commons tomorrow.

City council spokeswoman Julia Walton said officers did not yet know if any of the money would come Bristol's way.

The Evening Post reported the crisis over primary places in central and northern parts of Bristol earlier this year. Hundreds of families could not get their children into any of three schools close to their homes.

The council acted to tackle the immediate problem for 2009 and ordered a review of why it had failed to predict the scale of the problem and what it would need to do to prevent similar difficulties in future years.

Some of Bristol's problems are due to rapid population rises in inner-city areas. The numbers seeking fee-paying education at primary level seem to be holding up so far but some observers believe independent infant and junior schools could struggle in the later stages of the recession.