School Building (Hansard, 24 October 1968)

§ 14. Mr. Boyd-Carpenter
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why he has now cancelled school-building projects previously approved by him.

§ Miss Bacon
The major programmes for 1968–70 had to be recast when the resources for school building were reduced following the postponement of raising the school leaving age and the withdrawal of the associated building allocations. As a result, some projects previously authorised to start in those years or earlier are being deferred. If we had not controlled the backlog of unstarted projects, we should not have kept within the expenditure limits fixed for this year.

§ Mr. Boyd-Carpenter
As the three projects in the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames mentioned in my Question of 25th July were required to deal with schools which are already overcrowded and obsolescent and had nothing whatever to do with the question of raising the school leaving age, will the Minister look at these projects again on their merits?

§ Miss Bacon
Of these projects, one was in the 1966–67 programme and one was in the 1967–68 programme. If they had been regarded as being so urgent by the borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, that borough could have started on them at any time up to 31st March of this year.

§ Sir E. Boyle
Has not the right hon. Lady made a damaging admission? Is she not aware that there have often been perfectly good reasons why in the past projects have not been started in the year for which they have been approved? Is it not a serious matter now to withdraw a project for which approval was given some years ago?

§ Miss Bacon
The right hon. Gentleman will recall that we had several debates on this issue. Both he and I took part in them, and those discussions on at least one occasion went on into the early hours of the morning. The fact remains that, in spite of the withdrawal of the raising of the school leaving age money, more school building is going on now than at any time in our history.

§ Mr. Boyd-Carpenter
In view of the wholly unsatisfactory nature of the Minister's replies, I beg to give notice that I shall seek at an early opportunity in the new Session to raise this matter on the Adjournment.