Camden Council – ‘Our schoolchildren hit hardest in the capital by cuts’

Published: 20th January, 2011
by RICHARD OSLEY

THE Town Hall claimed this week it has been left with the worst financial deal in London by the government – and that Camden’s schoolchildren faced bearing the brunt.

Labour treasurer Councillor Theo Blackwell warned that although other local authorities were dealing with similar demands to cut a fifth of spending, only Camden has a massive backlog of unfunded repairs to schools and council homes.

He said on Tuesday that the borough had to fix its schools or face heftier bills in the future. Cllr Blackwell said that the Town Hall was trying to devise a way to bridge a shortfall of more than £400million.

“Every single school in Camden, primary and secondary, needs some sort of important refurbishment work,” he added. “All of this was in line to be done but the funding has been taken away by the government. How will Camden’s secondary schools be able to compete with shiny new academies and trust schools if they are left in their current state?”

The council ruled that no school is in an unsafe condition but Cllr Blackwell said scores of buildings are “reaching the end of their natural life”.