Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP Steve Brine has welcomed news that the government is to provide £500m towards new school places in England's areas of greatest need.
In a statement to MPs on Tuesday 19th July, the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove announced that the funds would be distributed from 2012 and that the current system for funding schools was "too complex and lacked transparency."
He said the plans would ensure "absolute fairness in the distribution of resources", with officials reviewing the state of disrepair facing schools up and down the country and new school building projects across the country will be based on simpler designs to reduce spending.
Regarding the provision of school places, which is an issue Mr Brine has recognised is a particular problem in his Winchester & Chandler's Ford constituency, Mr Gove said: "I recognise that in the short term schools around the country are facing real and pressing problems. The most pressing problem is ensuring that every child has a school place.
"In some local areas, there are simply not enough school places to meet rising demand. Local authorities have told me that insufficient attention has been given to this issue in the past, which is why I have already doubled the sums available to meet this pressure, announcing £800 million of additional spending given directly to local authorities to meet the demand for school places. Today, thanks to efficiencies and savings that we have identified, including in BSF projects, I can announce an additional £500 million to fund more new school places in those areas of greatest need.
"Funds will be allocated this financial year to the local authorities with the greatest demographic pressures so that they can provide enough places, especially at primary schools, in September 2012. Details of those allocations will be provided over the summer and finalised in the autumn."
Speaking to Mr Gove in the Commons, Steve Brine said: "I warmly welcome the Secretary of State's announcement. Parents in the city of Winchester will have heard his statement loud and clear, despite various other noises going on in the media today. What guidance has his department issued to local authorities in recent years about the need to keep spare capacity in the primary system?"
In response, Mr Gove said: "That is a typically shrewd point from my hon. Friend. One of the problems we inherited is that under the system that prevailed under the previous Government, guidance was given in 2007 to reduce surplus places, particularly in the primary sector, and we now have a basic need problem. It is good that the Opposition now recognise that we should prioritise meeting basic need."
More information...
You can view Mr Gove's statement and the full exchanges afterwards via http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2011-07-19a.792.0&s=speaker%3A24901#g808.3
