By David Williams
16 July 2009
A government pledge of an extra £200m for councils struggling to meet demand for primary school places has been welcomed as a first step in addressing the problem.
Education Secretary Ed Balls announced the additional funding, to be used to build new classrooms and schools, on July 15.
The money will be for authorities facing a 15% or more rise in reception-age children between 2008 and 2011, or for councils that have seen large increases in demand in more localised areas.
Authorities will bid for the cash over the next four weeks and allocations will be announced in September. Funding will be released in 2010/11 and ministers expect new facilities to be built in time for the 2011/12 school year.
The £200m had originally been part of a Department for Children, Schools and Families contingency fund set aside in the event that Private Finance Initiative projects needed rescuing as a result of the recession.
Balls said: ‘This is not about bailing out poor planning. It is absolutely right to give additional funding to build extra facilities in areas facing sudden increases in demand which could not reasonably have been forecast.’
London Councils, which began lobbying on the issue in April, said it was pleased the government had accepted its case for emergency funding. But it warned that a one-off spend of £200m would not be enough. It claimed that the capital alone needed £740m to ensure a reception class place for every five-year-old up to 2014.
James Kempton, executive member for children and young people, warned: ‘The capital needs almost four times this amount over the next five years – so this problem clearly won’t be fixed here. No other region is experiencing pressure quite like London, so it is vital that the capital gets its fair share.’
But the move has been welcomed by the Local Government Association, whose figures show that a fifth of councils nationally are now struggling to provide enough reception class places.
Les Lawrence, chair of the LGA board on children and young people, told Public Finance: ‘If targeted correctly, this money will assist in dealing with pressures like buying the land and building the schools. What this does is give room for reflection.
‘There are vast numbers of surplus places elsewhere in the country. Given that we’ve got a general election coming, this is a golden opportunity for the major political parties to consider how school infrastructure can be used to better deal with demographic changes that will take place over the next ten years.’
The LGA says in some areas the rise in demand has been caused by the recession, with parents forced to stay in urban areas due to the housing market collapse.
16 July 2009
A government pledge of an extra £200m for councils struggling to meet demand for primary school places has been welcomed as a first step in addressing the problem.
Education Secretary Ed Balls announced the additional funding, to be used to build new classrooms and schools, on July 15.
The money will be for authorities facing a 15% or more rise in reception-age children between 2008 and 2011, or for councils that have seen large increases in demand in more localised areas.
Authorities will bid for the cash over the next four weeks and allocations will be announced in September. Funding will be released in 2010/11 and ministers expect new facilities to be built in time for the 2011/12 school year.
The £200m had originally been part of a Department for Children, Schools and Families contingency fund set aside in the event that Private Finance Initiative projects needed rescuing as a result of the recession.
Balls said: ‘This is not about bailing out poor planning. It is absolutely right to give additional funding to build extra facilities in areas facing sudden increases in demand which could not reasonably have been forecast.’
London Councils, which began lobbying on the issue in April, said it was pleased the government had accepted its case for emergency funding. But it warned that a one-off spend of £200m would not be enough. It claimed that the capital alone needed £740m to ensure a reception class place for every five-year-old up to 2014.
James Kempton, executive member for children and young people, warned: ‘The capital needs almost four times this amount over the next five years – so this problem clearly won’t be fixed here. No other region is experiencing pressure quite like London, so it is vital that the capital gets its fair share.’
But the move has been welcomed by the Local Government Association, whose figures show that a fifth of councils nationally are now struggling to provide enough reception class places.
Les Lawrence, chair of the LGA board on children and young people, told Public Finance: ‘If targeted correctly, this money will assist in dealing with pressures like buying the land and building the schools. What this does is give room for reflection.
‘There are vast numbers of surplus places elsewhere in the country. Given that we’ve got a general election coming, this is a golden opportunity for the major political parties to consider how school infrastructure can be used to better deal with demographic changes that will take place over the next ten years.’
The LGA says in some areas the rise in demand has been caused by the recession, with parents forced to stay in urban areas due to the housing market collapse.
