Following on from recent events in Melton, the County Lib Dems have produced an amendment for next Wednesday Full Council. My colleague Cllr Don Wright is leading on this and the press release shows what we are trying to acheive: 

“Cllr Don Wright, Lib Dem Spokesman on CYPS, said: “our amendment proposes a way forward. It highlights key, factual and relevant points that need to be addressed in response to the problems of pupil numbers in Melton’s schools. We believe that people in other areas due for reorganisation such as Loughborough need to be reassured that this doesn’t happen again. But we disagree with Labour on the need for an independent enquiry, which would be costly, drawn out and undermines the efforts of the Director of CYPS” 

Cllr Simon Galton, Leader of the Opposition said “Our amendment allows for a proper mechanism by involving the Council’s Scrutiny Committee so that the necessary lessons can be learnt from the Melton review. I am sorry to say that the Labour proposal is not realistic whilst our amendment will enable the issues to be examined in an open and democratic forum. After all that is what Overview and Scrutiny is for and I’m disappointed that Labour doesn’t seem to have confidence in the system.”  

“There are also more issues to consider than simply launching an enquiry. I recently attended a conference where I heard the Conservative Shadow minister for Local Government, Caroline Spelman talk about the pressures faced by local government. After hearing what she said, I have serious concerns that the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ fund could be abandoned after the general election.  This funding is what the Council is relying on to modernise and improve secondary schools across Leicestershire. Many education authorities have already benefited from millions of pounds of funding but Leicestershire was placed towards the end of the programme and it would be grossly unfair if Leicestershire’s young people lost out because of planned cuts in public spending by who ever wins the election.” 

“At the end of the day, education isn’t about numbers of pupils on an attendance sheet – it’s about individual young people who deserve the best possible education. We must not forget this and simply get stuck in petty political squabbles.”