HC Deb 20 June 1961 vol 642 cc1144-5
2. Mr. Steele

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects work will commence on the new secondary school at Helensburgh.

Mr. Brooman-White

Dunbarton Education Authority expects to start building work in September, 1963.

Mr. Steele

Nineteen sixty-three? Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the school population at Helensburgh is growing very rapidly and that the position of both staff and pupils at the moment is quite intolerable? Does not the special circumstance warrant some special urgency in the matter?

Mr. Brooman-White

I am sure the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that the priorities are a matter for the local authority. This is a big project, which requires a lot of preparatory work.

Mr. Steele

But, surely, two years for planning a new school is something extraordinary.

Mr. Brooman-White

There has been difficulty over the site, as the hon. Gentleman knows.