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Shrewsbury Sixth Form College

I was about to come to that point. The Government's capital investment programme is providing Shrewsbury sixth form college with the opportunity to redevelop its estate to ensure that learners have the best possible facilities in which to learn. The educational and business cases for co-location are strong. Sharing facilities at the new site will allow learners to access world-class facilities and a broader curriculum offer than they could by staying on the current site. The plans have the support of the local strategic 14 to 19 partnership for education and training, the local education authority and the local learning and skills council. The building design has been developed so that colleges retain their separate identities. They will share the building but have separate governance and management. Separate teaching and learning areas will exist for each college. The premises costs will decrease substantially owing to the modern, efficient design of the new campus. The hon. Gentleman asked about local decision making and the accountability of governors. I should make it clear that the redevelopment of the college is ultimately a matter for local decision and for the governing body of the college as an independent institution. Such autonomy is important if we are to have a strong further education sector that can shape its own future in response to the needs of learners and employers. It would be wrong and inappropriate for a Minister to intervene directly—I am actually prohibited from doing so by legislation. To respond specifically to the hon. Gentleman's points about the governing body, we must remember that the decisions of a governing body are corporate decisions. From the correspondence between the hon. Gentleman and the Department, it is clear that the parent governor who resigned because of his opposition to the proposals was aware of the corporate nature of the decision-making process. Having decided to oppose publicly the decision to relocate the college, which he was entitled to do, it is understandable that the corporation felt that his position as a parent governor was untenable. The governor could not be forced to resign outside the corporation's procedures, but I understand that he was asked to resign and did so. Governing bodies do important work. The governance of Shrewsbury sixth form college is regarded by Ofsted as a key strength. Independent inspectors found that the college had a strong governing body. My Department has an ongoing programme of work with the sector and the Association of Colleges to ensure that governance arrangements for all further education colleges are strong and that governing bodies are accountable to the communities they serve. On the process for capital applications, it is crucial that any investment plans by colleges underpin their core mission of providing high-quality learning opportunities while responding to the diversity of their local communities. That means that a college must engage with all sections of the community when starting to plan any redevelopment project, to take into account the needs of the population it serves. In order to be considered for public funding support, colleges are required by the Learning and Skills Council to demonstrate that their proposals will serve the educational needs of people in their local area. It is certainly not a policy of the Government or the LSC actively to encourage co-location. Indeed, the Government's plans for transforming education for 14 to 19-year-olds include a rich choice of learning opportunities. The LSC expects a college to put forward the strongest educational case for a capital project based on a comprehensive options appraisal and a feasibility study. It would not make sense for the LSC to make a decision for the governing body about which of its options is the most appropriate. Once the college has submitted its capital proposal to the LSC, it has to go through a robust, multi-stage process in which the educational and business cases are scrutinised. Listening to the views of those who will be affected by the proposals is an important part of that process and is required before planning permission can be granted. We are in that stage now. Looking in more detail at the situation for Shrewsbury sixth form college, in 2004, the LSC commissioned a review of infrastructure in the area, which concluded that a significant amount of Shrewsbury sixth form college's accommodation was no longer fit for purpose and that the estates do not lend themselves to the kind of flexibility needed for the modern curriculum encapsulated in the Government's 14 to 19 reforms. I understand that the site has many listed buildings. Much of the Shrewsbury sixth form college estate is subject to planning restrictions, and large areas of both Shrewsbury sixth form college and Shrewsbury college of arts and technology cannot be made compliant with the Disability Discrimination Acts. Shrewsbury sixth form college and Shrewsbury college of arts and technology commissioned separate property strategies in 2004 to inform them how best to address the issues. The property strategies examined a number of alternatives, including redevelopment of the existing college sites, relocation to alternative sites and co-location of both colleges on a single site. After carefully weighing up the pros and cons of each option, the college governing body decided on co-location, because it presents the best opportunities for the college's future development. Towards the end of 2006, the development of the project was put on hold due to objections to relocation of the sixth form college from the town centre raised by the hon. Gentleman and a number of the sixth form college staff. A review of the project was then undertaken, in which all known or current town centre sites for co-location were re-examined and reconsidered in some detail. In view of the aspirations of the educational case and the existing estate issues, continuing on the present site and other alternatives were ruled out. Addressing the objections raised regarding the potential loss of the sixth form college's distinctiveness and the impact on the town centre and transport has been built into the project execution plan, which is now being implemented. I understand why the hon. Gentleman does not want to lose the college in his town centre, but after a lot of weighing up of the options, it has been decided to co-locate. In essence, the colleges will remain separate, but it is in the interests of young people in the area that co-location should go forward. That is the determination of the LSC and the governing bodies of the two organisations. The hon. Gentleman dissents from that, and he is entitled to do so, but it would be wrong for the Government to step in, to take sides and disrupt a local process, despite the understandable anxiety caused by changes in local circumstances.