LAWS SLAMS £4.5 MILLION LOCAL TORY EDUCATION CUTS.
David Laws, MP for Yeovil Constituency, has heavily criticised Conservative controlled Somerset County Council for its announcement this week that it plans to cut £4.6 million from front-line school budgets. David is calling for the Conservatives to rethink the proposed cuts at the County Council Cabinet Meeting on 3rd February.
The cuts include:
*Cancelling plans to replace Yeovil’s existing Pupil Referral Unit, whose buildings are not considered fit for purpose.
*Cancelling plans to upgrade a temporary classroom at Ilchester School.
*Axing plans to set up local Support Units for Behavioural, Emotional, Social and Autism difficulties.
*Axing the budgets set aside to help replace the ageing Ashlands School in Crewkerne.
*Axing budgets allocated to support the development of new schools in Yeovil – at Thorne Lane, Lufton and Brimsmore.
David Laws MP:
“I am absolutely appalled that the Conservative controlled County Council is slashing the budgets for education, at precisely the same time as the Council leadership has proposed to spend more money on political advisers. The County Council has got to wake up and get its priorities right.
“The cuts mean that new schools that are needed in Crewkerne and Yeovil are being put on the back-burner, while support for vulnerable young people is being axed.
“For example, it is well known that the Pupil Referral Unit in Yeovil has buildings which are completely unfit for purpose, and these were going to be replaced. Now this plan has simply been dropped by the Conservatives.
“Just as damaging are the proposals to cut planned support for young people with autism and with emotional and social problems.
“At Westminster, David Cameron is talking about “mending Britain’s broken society”. But in Somerset the Conservatives seemed determined to dismantle the educational and support services which are necessary to tackle the problems which so many young people experience.
“These cuts make me very angry, and I think that they will cause deep concern among many people. If the Conservatives were planning to cut education services, they should have had the honesty to make this clear in their manifesto just 9 months ago.
“I will be writing today to the Leader of Somerset County Council asking him to reconsider these cuts at next week’s County Council Cabinet meeting. I hope that Conservative councillors will join with the Liberal Democrats to vote down these damaging cuts.”
ENDS.
Category: MP Press Releases