Topical question asked in the House of Commons, by John Heppell (Labour). It was answered on Monday, 26 January 2009 on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Topical Questions

Question: I heard the Secretary of State give guarantees to Bury about future spending. Nottingham city council is not in the first two tranches for primary school capital expenditure. We have been reassured that the money will still be available when it is our turn, but may I ask the Minister for Schools and Learners whether that is the case? Will he give us that guarantee, and say that there is no possibility of the future capital programme being cut?

Answer: Certainly, we are working closely with authorities such as Nottingham city council to ensure that its primary capital programme is up to standard, in terms of achieving the educational transformation that we want. I am grateful for this chance to encourage local authorities across England to take advantage of the opportunity that we have afforded them of bringing forward spend to invest in primary capital now, rather than having to wait until next year. We are continuing to encourage authorities to take up that offer.

Secondary information