HARROW'S new Labour administration has cut £450,000 from our borough's schools budget to invest in new IT facilities in the council offices.
At last week's cabinet, Labour decided to take money earmarked to support a bid to the now defunct Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme to partially fund the council's new IT contract.
Few would disagree with the laudable aims of Labour's BSF flagship policy, to invest in new and improved schools for our children.
Yet, like so many Labour initiatives, the bold promises proved hollow for too many. Some children benefited but the vast majority did not; of those in school when BSF started, most have already completed their schooling.
Despite Harrow's only minor involvement in it, the council had earmarked around £450,000 for our bid; as Councillor Brian Gate noted, 'we wanted to bid for funding in the next two years to carry out desperately needed repairs on a number of school buildings throughout the borough'. (Harrow Observer, July 7)
However, rather than invest this money in improving Harrow's schools, Mr Gate voted with his Labour cabinet colleagues to buy new IT facilities for the council.
Given the mess Labour left the nation's finances in, some tough decisions, such as scrapping failed programmes like BSF, have to be made.
But those, like Mr Gate, charged with improving our children's education, shouldn't use this as a surreptitious excuse to cut local funding to Harrow's schools.
COUNCILLOR BARRY MACLEODCULINANE Conservative, Deputy leader of the opposition Harrow Council
