Funding fog must not hide crumbling school buildings

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 25th Sep 2006

Welsh Liberal Democrats will call on Ministers to de-mistify the funding fog surrounding our schools when Jane Davidson responds to a cross party report on Tuesday.

Peter Black, who was a member of the school funding committee which produced the report, believes the Minister has failed to recognise the committee's intentions in producing the report.

He said: "The Minister's response on the scrutiny of education budgets within the local government portfolio is disingenuous. She says that scrutiny is a matter for the Assembly not the Government and yet the Local Government Minister refused to come to Education committee to answer questions on this issue when I wrote to her.

"I am also concerned about capital funding for school repairs. The amount actually spent is less than that allegedly passed onto schools by the Assembly Government. The Government's target of getting schools fit for purpose is accepted as unachievable by all concerned - except the Minister herself. The level of disrepair that cause children and teachers to work in draughty damp classrooms is growing daily. The Government needs to set realistic targets to tackle this in partnership with local Councils and they need to ensure that the money allocated to fulfil those targets is not siphoned off to other capital schemes."

Mr Black is chair of the Education and Life Long Learning committee.

Mike German, Assembly leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, added: "Otherwise, the Minister's comments so far have been encouraging but on capital spending in particular the words have not been matched by action. The proof of her commitment has to be seen in what she does.

"Many of the answers she gives in her written response to the committee give the impression that her current policies meet the committee's recommendations. In fact, we are far from convinced that this was the case and want her to go further.

"For example, the Committee was very clear that they wanted to see three year budgets for schools so as to remove uncertainty and allow Headteachers to plan ahead. The Government seems to be making heavy weather of this. Scotland managed it in 2002, England will follow suit this year. Wales is still waiting.

"Finally, we are disappointed at the Minister's response to the Committee's recommendation that schools should be funded on the basis of what it costs to run them rather than on the past spending patterns. History is something that should be taught in schools not used as the basis for running them."