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FUNDING CONCERNS OF CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE COLLEGE RAISED IN THE COMMONS
14 January 2010
Central Bedfordshire College had their funding concerns raised in Parliament on the day of the official launch of their new name. Central Bedfordshire College was formerly Dunstable College and has sites in Leighton Buzzard and Houghton Regis as well as Dunstable.
Central Bedfordshire College is still £600,000 out of pocket from the fees the College spent on a rebuild the Government asked them to work up, before saying the rebuild could not proceed.
In addition, the College has taken on an extra 250 students in September for which it has received no additional funding, and it is unclear how the College is to pay for the proposed January guarantee. Andrew Selous raised these points with the Minister, Kevin Brennan MP, who agreed to look into the points raised and get back to Andrew Selous.
The exchange in Hansard was as follows:
13. Andrew Selous (South-West Bedfordshire) (Con): What estimate he has made of the level of capital expenditure by further education colleges in (a) south Bedfordshire and (b) England in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [310588]
The Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs (Kevin Brennan): In the financial year 2009–10, the Learning and Skills Council will invest £800 million in the development of 66 further education college capital projects across England. They will cost a total of £2.45 billion, and will receive just under £1.8 billion of Government investment in this and the next spending review. The Bedfordshire and Luton area has benefited from £52.8 million in LSC capital grant support since 2001, although in the last 12 months there has been no capital expenditure in South-West Bedfordshire.
Andrew Selous: I am glad that the Minister made the last point, that central Bedfordshire got nothing. Also, the college took on 250 extra students in September for whom it has no funding. I spoke to the principal this morning, and she told me she believes that she is expected to implement the January guarantee with no money. The local learning and skills council thinks that there is some money, but does not know how to access it. Can the Minister help?
Kevin Brennan: I shall certainly be happy to look into that. I know that the hon. Gentleman’s local college, which has changed its name, has received £740,000 in support for the capital project development costs that it was not able to go ahead with as a result of the programme. However, I am certainly happy to look into the point that he makes about the January guarantee.
