§ 22. Mr. William Edwardsasked the Secretary of State for Wales how much of the additional money recently announced to be spent on primary and nursery schools in Wales has been allocated to each of the counties of Mid-Wales; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasSince December, 1970, I have allocated £1.6 million to the five Mid-Wales counties for school building of which £740,000 was for primary 1103 and nursery schools. I am circulating details in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. EdwardsCan the right hon. and learned Gentleman explain why in the additional programme which was announced in order to boost employment by the building of schools, a county like Merioneth, which has a 10 per cent. unemployment rate, is not allocated a new primary school for a town like Blaenau Ffestiniog?
§ Mr. Peter ThomasThe major schools replacement programme announced so far covers projects of high priority on an all-Wales basis. I take it the hon. Member was talking about the Maenofferen primary schools at Blaenau Ffestiniog. I fully accept that it should be replaced and I hope to be able to include this in an early programme.
§ Following are the details:
§ The amounts designated for primary and nursery schools are (County totals are in brackets):
| £ | £ | |
| Cardiganshire | 113,000 | (498,000) |
| Merioneth | Nil | (68,000) |
| Montgomeryshire | 217,000 | (477,000) |
| Radnorshire | 60,000 | (107,000) |
| Breconshire | 350,000 | (455,000) |
§ The £1.6 million includes £408,000 for minor projects, a considerable part of which will be spent on primary school improvements.