The Guardian reports on the government announcement that the Schoolbuilding programe is being drastically cut:
Michael Gove today cancelled Labour’s school building programme, suspending projects for 715 new schools as part of the coalition’s latest tranche of spending cuts, which also saw funding culled for new housing projects, school swimming pools and eco-towns.
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The coalition has acknowledged for the first time that it is to target Sure Start in its austerity measures, primarily by finding underspends and reducing inefficiencies. But the Department for Education warned it would cut core funding for future Sure Start building projects as a “last resort”.
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The coalition government took its axe to a further ?1.5bn in spending commitments, cutting ?1bn from the schools budget and millions from the business department, communities and local government and the Home Office.
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The announcement coincided with the education secretary’s confirmation that the ?55bn, 20-year Building Schools for the Future programme would be cancelled altogether. Some 706 new school buildings and services that already have contracts signed will go ahead, but 715 more will be scrapped.
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Gove told the Commons that the scheme had been hit by “massive overspends, tragic delays, botched construction projects and needless bureaucracy”.
The Guardian also helpfully has a list of what is happening to each project, area by area.
For Essex:
13 projects are unaffected.
4 are open for discussion
17 are stopped
Clacton Coastal Academy- Open
East Basildon Lower Academy – Unaffected
East Basildon UpperAcademy – Unaffected
Greensward College Academy ? for discussion
Rickstones Academy – Unaffected
Sir Charles Lucas Academy – for discussion
St Peter’s High School Academy – for discussion
The Maltings Academy – Unaffected
Alderman Blaxill – Stopped
Beachumps High School- Stopped
Colchester PRU – Stopped
Edith Borthwick Community Special School – Stopped
Glenwood, Benfleet Community Special School – Stopped
Homestead – Stopped
Mayflower High School – Stopped
Philip Morant – Stopped
Stanway – Stopped
The Appleton School – Stopped
The Billericay School – Stopped
The Bromfords School – Stopped
The Deanes School – Essex Stopped
The Gilberd – Stopped
The King John School – Stopped
Thomas Lord Audley – Stopped
Thurstable – Stopped
Castle View School – Unaffected PFI
Chelmsford New Model Special School- Unaffected PFI
Cornelius Vermuyden School- Unaffected PFI
De La Salle- Unaffected
James Hornsby School- Unaffected
Pioneer- Unaffected
Shorefields – Unaffected
St Helena – Unaffected
Woodlands – Essex Unaffected PFI
So this is what happens when I vote Liberal Democrat in the General Election. Back to Labour for me next time.
It was Labour’s complete and utter mismanagement of our finances that put us in this mess.
I can understand your concern, “Concerned” – but weren’t Labour talking about 20 percent cuts to deal with the deficit, as opposed to the Coalition’s 25 percent? Not much difference there…..
Not much difference in the cuts, but vast difference in the areas they wish to cut. 2 months into the Condem pact, and it appears very Con and not very dem. I was willing to give this new government a fair chance, since I was very keen on the Lib Dem ticket, but it appears we are already back to the bad old days of the 80s and Thatcherism.
As for the financial mismanagement, it appears to me that the Banking crisis that started all this mess seems to have been swept under the carpet by their Conservative cronies, and now apparently the poor and disadvantaged have to pay for it.
Not that I agree with either the Labour Party’s or the coalition’s economic policy but I would point out that 25% cuts are 25% more than 20% cuts, to me that is a large difference.
Very good maths Michael did I teach you by any chance? I seem to remember scrapping Trident was suggested. personally I would prefer Trident was top of the list rather than sure start. I would have had this as a non negotiable.
What about the new classrooms at Downhall Primary which were supposed to replace the demountables used by the infants – has this been pulled as well?
Which published list did you get this from? Gove’s 1st, 2nd, or, I now hear, 3rd attempt? Have LibDem HQ published figures of how many people agreed with the coalition, or were the LibDem MPs so hungry for power they ignored voters wishes? A Tory minority with an agreement to abstain / back them would have been able to rein some of the cuts in.
Eric Pickles says we should be reverting to weekly rubbish collections, what are your thoughts on this?
Robin, as stated above the list is from the Guardian.
For opinion polls I read the ‘political betting’ website.
My personal view on recycling is that there should be weekly collections of green waste, just like we have in Rochford District now. Fortnightly for the other stuff is good enough for me.