North East colleges miss out after budget blunder

Jun 27 2009 by Nicola Juncar, The Journal

“The members of the board and the staff are extremely angry that this entire process has been so abysmally mismanaged by the LSC nationally and essentially puts us back where we were three years ago.

“However, we can not dwell on this anger and disappointment and must now draw a line under the debacle and concentrate on the task in hand of providing first-class teaching from all of our sites across the borough.

“By hook or by crook there will be new facilities at South Tyneside College.”

Northumberland College Principal and Chief Executive Rachel Ellis-Jones said: "We are obviously extremely disappointed at the news, although we have had no confirmation of this decision from the Learning and Skills Council. The LSC has for some years given the college great encouragement that we had a very strong case for new build.

"It is a great shame for people looking to access further and higher education in Northumberland – the only county in the country to have had no capital funding. They will sadly be denied the ‘world class’ facilities the Government promised them.

"The college management and governing body remain determined to secure capital investment to transform our learning facilities and will continue to lobby the Government until Northumberland gets its new build."

The LSCouncil froze the building programme in December because there was not enough money to go around.

Further Education minister Kevin Brennan said the 13 colleges were chosen after the LSC looked at where the funds would have the greatest impact for students, employers and communities and where work can be started quickly and get the best value for the taxpayer.

The remaining 167 colleges in the programme will not learn if they can go ahead until 2011.