06 August 2009
The Welsh Assembly finance committee has called for simplification of the system of grants to schools and colleges after describing it as ‘a complete mess’.
Schools had no idea how much was on offer, or how to apply for grants for such things as school uniforms, the committee found. Even the Welsh Assembly Government was unable to provide an accurate figure for how many grants were being paid.
Committee chair Angela Burns said: ‘There are complaints about every aspect of such grants, from a lack of information on what is available to the paperwork involved in applying for them.’
It was, she added, ‘nonsense’ that someone in charge of a school or college budget worth millions of pounds should have to ‘jump through’ so many hoops to claim a £5,000 grant.
The Welsh Assembly finance committee has called for simplification of the system of grants to schools and colleges after describing it as ‘a complete mess’.
Schools had no idea how much was on offer, or how to apply for grants for such things as school uniforms, the committee found. Even the Welsh Assembly Government was unable to provide an accurate figure for how many grants were being paid.
Committee chair Angela Burns said: ‘There are complaints about every aspect of such grants, from a lack of information on what is available to the paperwork involved in applying for them.’
It was, she added, ‘nonsense’ that someone in charge of a school or college budget worth millions of pounds should have to ‘jump through’ so many hoops to claim a £5,000 grant.
