§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to provide a guarantee that the debt charges on capital expenditure to provide new accommodation for Cambridge regional college will not remain the responsibility of the local education authority should the college be accorded corporate status.
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarke[pursuant to the reply, 22 April 1991, c. 322]: From April 1993 the council that will be established to fund the new sector will take responsibility for meeting the cost of servicing debts arising from contracts for new capital spending in sixth form colleges and LEA-maintained colleges of further and higher education. The council will take responsibility only for the costs of debts relating to contracts entered into after 1 April 1991 which have a value in excess of £50,000 and to which I have consented under the arrangements I announced on 21 March this year.
The maximum amount of each local education authority's debt for which the council will take responsibility will not exceed the level allowed within the authority's annual capital guidelines for relevant institutions in 1991–92 and 1992–93. These arrangements will be reflected in an appropriate adjustment to revenue support grant for future local authority finance settlements.
The servicing of debt arising from contracts entered into before 1 April 1991 will remain the responsibility of local education authorities. It will continue to be supported through annual local authority finance settlements as now.
Given this assurance, I expect authorities to wish to continue with their existing capital programmes and to undertake further appropriate capital spending on the colleges.