MP slams Govt over school funding as South West put to the back of the queue

Devon’s Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord has criticised the recent allocation of the Condition Improvement Fund for schools, which saw just 24% of bids for South West schools accepted – the lowest rate in the whole country and a third less than the level awarded to the South East.

The Condition Improvement Fund is a yearly allocation of funding from the Department for Education, worth £456million this year, which aims to keep school buildings safe and in good working order.

Most of the funding aims to support issues with significant consequences that schools cannot otherwise address. This includes issues like poor building condition, building compliance, energy efficiency, and health and safety.

This year’s allocation saw £23million being awarded to schools across the South West, compared to schools in the Conservative heartlands of the South East, which secured the lion’s share of the funding and will receive £106million.

Tiverton & Honiton MP Richard Foord has branded this latest allocation an “insult” and said it highlights the continued neglect of the South West. One school in his constituency, Axminster Community Primary Academy, was successful in its application for funding.

Commenting on the announcement, Richard Foord MP said:
“This announcement is an insult to schools across the West Country and shows that the Conservatives are continuing to take our rural communities for granted.

“The South West saw the lowest rate of bids being given funding, while the South East took the largest amount of funding in the whole country – almost five times what the West Country was given.

“I am glad to see that Axminster Community Primary Academy was successful in their bid; when I toured that school with the excellent leadership team there, I could see that they were facing budget shortfalls. Yet, I know first-hand that there are many other schools across our communities that are in urgent need of help.

“Many are trapped in ageing, failing buildings that are creaking at the seams. Primary and secondary schools are struggling with repairs – using all of their patch-up budget for the whole financial year within a few months, given how urgent many of the repairs are.

“We need to see real attention paid to schools in the West Country, so they have the resources they need to give all our children the quality education they deserve. This is the only way we can unlock every child’s true potential and enable them to thrive throughout their lives.”