§ 9. Mr. Dempseyasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will authorise the starting of the new schools for Airdrie High School and Coatbridge St. Patrick's High School, for January-February, 1965; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. HartI understand that Lanarkshire education authority proposes to start these projects as soon as it is ready; the likely dates are, respectively, autumn and spring 1965.
§ Mr. DempseyYes, but is my hon. Friend aware that on two or three occasions we were told that these schools were earmarked to be started at the beginning of 1964? Is she aware that at Airdrie High School we are using accommodation condemned 40 years ago and that at St. Patrick's School we have the most deplorable and shocking overcrowding situation imaginable in Scotland at present? In view of the urgency, and the high rate of unemployment in this part of Lanarkshire, will my hon. Friend give us some hope of starting the work earlier, even though the money may be borrowed in the next financial year?
§ Mrs. HartThe difficulty here is not one of anticipating the money allocation. Airdrie High School is a large and complicated project, and it is now going to start in the autumn. I do not see that there is any possibility of the education authority itself bringing it forward. St. Patrick's High School is due to start in the spring, but if it should start a little before the present financial year ends, there will be no objection coming from us.