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Money for primary places must be released - Burstow
May 18, 2009 5:58 PM
Local MPs Paul Burstow and Tom Brake, with Cllr Tony Brett-Young after meeting the Primary Schools Minister
Local MPs, Tom Brake and Paul Burstow, Cllr Tony Brett-Young and officers from Sutton council today (18/05/09) met the Minister responsible for primary schools to demand extra funding from the Government to avert a looming crisis of primary school places in the borough.
Despite careful management by the council, an unprecedented increase in the borough's birth rates combined with a London wide shortage of primary school places has pushed the capacity of local primary schools to the limit.
At today's meeting with Minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry, the delegation set out the urgent need for extra funding to be released to Sutton. They warned the Minister that unless additional money is released by 2011 there could be up to 271 children without a primary school place, rising to an estimated 337 in the following school year, 2012-13.
Speaking after the meeting Paul Burstow MP, who organised the meeting said:
"Sutton's primary schools are at capacity; and the situation is set to get worse. School renovations and improvements are now on hold because money must be found to provide more places; but this cannot go on forever.'
"I'm encouraged that the Minister is taking our situation seriously but it needs to provide the cash, otherwise it is putting the future of hundreds of the borough's children at risk."
Tom Brake MP commented:
'The Minister said she liked our simple presentation of the facts. We look forward to her simple response.
'All she has to do is give Sutton the funding needed to satisfy the demand for extra primary school classrooms, caused by higher birth rate and more families wanting their children to stay in Sutton's schools.'
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