Vince Cable

College Principals are holding emergency meetings in London today (Monday) and will hold discussions with Vincent Cable MP in Parliament on the problems created by the sudden withdrawal of promises of government funding for new buildings.

The local Community College for adult learners had already invested £800,000 in plans for redeveloping the Clifden Road site and the Richmond Tertiary College in Egerton Road also had plans to proceed with rebuilding on the site. In both cases, the Learning and Skills Council has indicated that government funding, previously available, will be sharply cut creating serious problems for colleges.

Vincent Cable said: "This is a shocking piece of incompetence by the Government and its quango, the LSC. There were firm promises to push ahead with a big building programme which is badly needed in time of recession and which will equip our excellent local colleges with the facilities which they deserve. Then it emerged that someone in government had got their sums wrong and the programme has been stopped in its tracks.

Our local colleges are not as badly affected as some which had already started demolishing their existing buildings, and started work. But the hold up is expensive and damaging and the preliminary spending cannot be recouped. I believe that the Adult College may have the means to press ahead with its own reserves, which would be good news for the community, if it happens.