Earlier this week the BBC highlighted the remarks of Pembrokeshire’s outgoing Education Director. Gerson Davies, who complained that there is too much bureaucracy when applying for grants to improve school buildings in Wales:
He told BBC Wales: “There are a multiplicity of grants… and each one of those has its process… and that consumes money.
“If you look at the 21st Century Schools fund – there’s an awfully cumbersome process, it’s paper-loaded.”
He’s also said education officials around Wales needed backing from their local politicians when school reorganisations and closures were required to get rid of surplus places.
This has been the experience of other councils as well. One of the features of the grant system that is causing some problems is the insistence of the Welsh Government that money needs to be spent straight away. This works well when it involves upgrading existing buildings or even replacing an established school. However, when a local Council is seeking to drive out surplus places at the same time as modernising its school buildings by, for example, merging schools on a new site in a modern building it means Government money has not so far been made available.
This is because, the Government wants all the statutory processes completed so that work can start straight away, but this process cannot be started by the Council unless it has the cash in place in advance. There are some ways around this but they are less than satisfactory for stakeholders. It is something the government needs to address as the 21st Century Schools fund progresses.
Related posts:
