Alan Whitehead

Labour Party | Southampton Test

TORIES STILL SILENT OVER £60,000,000 SCHOOL CUTS POLICY

Conservative Council bosses are still silent over where they stand on their party’s plans to cut school renovation funding for Southampton.

Late last year it was revealed that the Conservatives planned to raid the rebuilding and renovation budget for schools in 76 local authorities, including schools in Southampton.  In December both Alan Whitehead MP and John Denham MP wrote to the local Conservative education chief, Cllr Peter Baillie, asking him where he stood on this proposal, but have yet to receive any reply.

Every Southampton secondary school is set to receive extra cash for building and renovation projects as part of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.  Many of the Council’s plans for secondary schools, like the proposed Learning Campus on the St Marks school site, would largely be paid for using BSF capital funding.

But the Conservatives now say a future Conservative government would cut future BSF funding.  Under their proposals, £4.5 billion would be cut from the national scheme, with 76 local authorities (one of which is Southampton) losing on average £60 million each.  Two thirds of all school rebuild and renovation projects in the city are at risk.

The Conservatives instead want to spend BSF money on building ‘New Academies.’  In their policy document ‘Raising the Bar, Closing the Gap’ the Conservatives argue government should spread existing education funding more thinly by encouraging new academies to be built, while doing nothing for schools that are weak or underperforming.

Dr Alan Whitehead, Member of Parliament for Southampton Test, said:

“In many cases, if you take away the funding for school rebuilding, you impede much wider plans for community regeneration.  The plan for a St Marks Learning Campus is a good example.  Without BSF funding the Learning Campus will not go ahead, which would in turn kill the plan to save the former Civil Service Sports Ground by turning it into a school playing field.

“If the Southampton Conservatives really believe this is a good idea, they should have the courage to say so publicly.  I have already written to Cllr Baillie asking him to disassociate himself from this disastrous policy proposal.  Is he going to stand up for Southampton or not?”