AM Welcomes Funding

CARL SARGEANT WELCOMES £20.5 MILLION FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
Carl Sargeant AM for Alyn & Deeside has welcomed capital funding of £20.5 million which has today been announced by Labour’s Welsh Assembly Education Minister Leighton Andrews.
Local Authorities will receive £14 million for schools and FE Institutions will receive £6.5 million to carry out small capital works.
The funding is for small, but essential capital projects which could include improvement of school facilities, such as toilets for pupils, general refurbishments or infrastructure improvements.
This additional funding has been made available to local authorities and FE Institutions from within the Assembly’s core budget as a result of in year flexibility in 2010/11 with the requirement that it is spent by the end of this financial year.
This allocation is additional capital for investment in education and Local Authorities which have already identified programmes where this funding will be spent.
Carl Sargeant AM for Alyn & Deeside said in welcoming the news,
“ I want local schools to be fit to deliver our curriculum in the 21st Century. The funding announced today will help in achieving that goal. By the end of this current Assembly term (2007-11) the Labour led Welsh Assembly will have invested over £700 million in capital funding in a range of projects across Wales.”
Education Minister Leighton Andrews said:
“In One Wales we made a clear commitment to continue a major capital investment programme in Wales to upgrade school buildings. Against a background of falling capital budgets, it is good news that schools and FEIs are going to benefit from substantial capital investment which we’ve made available because of careful and prudent budgeting in this financial year.