HC Deb 19 April 1977 vol 930 cc16-7
12. Mr. Skinner

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further steps she is taking to assist in replacing nineteenth-century schools in Derbyshire.

Miss Margaret Jackson

My right hon. Friend is anxious to resume, and maintain, a programme for replacing old and unsatisfactory school buildings in Derbyshire, as elsewhere, as soon as the economic circumstances permit.

Mr. Skinner

The Government seem to be finding plenty of money for other things. Should not the great education debate be not so much about the question of what the syllabus ought to be as about how much money we should put into education, into providing better education facilities and replacing some of the out-of-date schools, particularly in Derbyshire, where there are, I believe, more than 200 such schools? Will my hon. Friend follow the example of the Labour group in Derby—which will be fighting like hell to retain control of the county council during the next few weeks—by fighting the Tories on the question of education expenditure and not seeming to agree with them, as has been the case with this Government during the past two years?

Miss Jackson

I agree with my hon. Friend that we need an increase in education expenditure—there is nothing that Ministers in the Department would like to see more—but I differ from him in not thinking that this makes the great debate irrelevant. It seems to me that as part of arguing for more resources one also argues about where they are most needed.

Mr. Whitehead

Does my hon. Friend agree that the problem, at least in Derbyshire, is one not merely of replacing outdated nineteenth-century schools but of providing supplementary accommodation in some cases for nineteenth-century and twentieth-century schools? Will she ask the Derbyshire County Council to provide figures on the amount of overcrowding that now exists in schools, notably in my constituency, where there are primary schools for which supplementary accommodation really should be provided?

Miss Jackson

I shall write to my hon. Friend about this. As he knows, since resources are scarce they tend to be concentrated in areas where there is a need for roofs over heads. But, of course, Derbyshire, like other counties, has a problem of school provision, and it may be that that is why his constituency is not receiving the priority that he would like.