New Minister has his head in the sand over school buildings charges AM

2.27.30pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 13th Jun 2007

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson, Peter Black, has accused the Education Minister of putting his head in the sand over the condition of school buildings around Wales, after he dodged a question about the need for new resources to tackle the problem.

When challenged in the Assembly on the need to invest in schools the Minister referred to a grant issued four years ago to local Councils, which although not yet all spent, has been committed already to projects by many local authorities and is wholly inadequate to meet the cost of the work facing them.

"A £749m gap between available resources and required funding was identified by an authoritative survey by accountants Pricewaterhouse Coopers on behalf of the Welsh Local Government Association last July," said Mr. Black. "That study was based on a comprehensive assessment of the maintenance backlog and 'fit for purpose' requirements of all 22 local authorities in Wales. Even so it is considered to be an under-estimate by many Councils."

"At least the Minister's predecessor acknowledged that there was a problem. The Government now appear to be in denial. Instead of making cheap political points about schools in his own constituency, which would have been built by now if the previous Labour Council had pulled its finger out on land acquisition, Carwyn Jones should be addressing the very serious problem that teachers, pupils and parents face every day with the condition of their schools. Putting his head in the sand and hoping the problem will go away is not an option. It is enormously complacent."