§ Patrick MercerTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much has been spent at the Emergency Planning College at Easingwold on new classrooms and accommodation over the past two years; and how much was spent on new training equipment in the same period. [158982]
§ Mr. AlexanderWork Started in August 2003 on a £7 million programme to replace the Emergency Planning College's student residential accommodation, training and seminar rooms, library, research facilities and integral IT and audio-visual training equipment. The programme will provide a modern learning environment for the new courses that the college will deliver from September 2004 onwards.
Owing to the planned demolition of the old classroom block to make way for the new building, the college has limited expenditure on new training equipment in the past two years to £10,000, the minimum necessary to sustain teaching in temporary accommodation.
1773WThe College has a range of other projects to enhance its training, including development of a distance and e-learning capability, which involves spending £180,000 over the next four years on systems, materials and products.