MINISTERIAL SNUB OVER COLLEGE FUNDING CRISIS - Cornwall College remains in limbo after Minister cancels meeting

11.15.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 24th Apr 2009

A meeting set-up to discuss the funding crisis affecting Cornwall College has been cancelled by a government minister at the last minute - with no explanation why.

The college has been affected by a funding crisis, caused by the Learning Skills Council (LSC). They have put a freeze on capital spending in colleges across the country after massively over-reaching their budget.

Cornwall College's multi-million pound plans for its Pool campus are in limbo as it is not clear whether there will be enough resources available to complete the work planned - while the college has already spent £500,000 on preparation work. The Government and the LSC are working to prioritise which colleges will get funding - a process which could take several months.

Local MP Julia Goldsworthy raised the issue in Parliament and secured a meeting with Minister Sion Simon to discuss the problem. The meeting was set for 27 April but was cancelled at the last minute and is now being pushed back until the end of June.

Commenting, Julia said:

"This is outrageous! Cornwall College is effectively in limbo whilst it waits for the government and LSC to get their act together.

"The Minister promised a meeting after I raised this matter but now it seems he is attempting to avoid the issue. Improvements to Cornwall College's Pool campus are not only important to their current and potential students, they are also vital to the regeneration of the whole area.

"The Minister said that he was prepared to meet any College affected, but now he has gone back on that guarantee. How can the Department expect to deal with this issue when it refuses to meet and discuss the matter with those directly affected.

"The Government is clearly embarrassed by the problems that the Learning and Skills Council's incompetence has caused, but ignoring the problem doesn't mean it will go away, and is deeply insulting to all the people for whom this issue is so important."