HC Deb 02 July 1964 vol 697 c1517
2. Mrs. Castle

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why he has refused to include the rebuilding of St. Albans Roman Catholic secondary school in the major school building programme of the Blackburn authority for 1965–66.

Mr. Hogg

The authority gave priority in its 1965–66 proposals to a large county secondary school project which has been approved. It was not possible to include another project of similar size in the same programme.

Mrs. Castle

Is the Minister aware that this county project in Lammack school is designed to replace buildings which were condemned as unsuitable for secondary education 17 years ago, but that equally the St. Albans Roman Catholic Secondary School is urgently needed to replace conditions which, according to his own inspectors' report, are quite intolerable from an educational point of view? Is it not unfair to play off one project against another when both are of such equal and admitted urgency?

Mr. Hogg

The Roman Catholics in the hon. Lady's constituency got a secondary school, St. Mary's, in this year's programme. They are going to get in the year 1966–67 the primary school attached to the one about which she is talking and which is allowed for 1967–68, so that I do not think that they have done very badly.