SHAM OF UPGRADES IN FLAGSHIP SCHOOLS’ POLICY
Government policies to rebuild or refurbish almost every school in England have been labelled a sham after Liberal Democrats have discovered that one in every five projects had provided only computers !
Last year, out of 41 projects, 9 involved little more than an upgraded computer suite, according to data provided in answer to a parliamentary question by the new schools minister, Vernon Coaker.
David Laws, Lib Dem Schools Spokesperson said “The inclusion of such small scale projects turns what is supposed to be a flagship programme into a bit of a sham”
“Schools in Purbeck are supposed to be being reorganised on the basis of this money” said Lib Dem parliamentary Candidate for South Dorset, Ros Kayes. “I hope that the County Council planning this unpopular move have taken these figures into consideration. The Government is running out of money & a Conservative administration would be committed to cuts: schools restructuring in Purbeck is clearly a question of wrong time, wrong place.”
Thursday 27 August 2009
South Dorset Support for Clegg's bank plan
BANK CHARGES CHALLENGED BY LIB DEM LEADER
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, has described the refusal of banks to repay unfair charges as “scandalous” & is tabling a parliamentary motion backing a campaign to force banks to repay them automatically, rather than making customers apply for them to do so.
Around a million customers have had refund claims frozen until the result of a test case that will decide whether fairness rules apply to charges of up to £35 a time for unauthorised use of overdrafts.
Seven major banks & a building society have asked the law lords to overturn rulings that the charges for making just one payment over an agreed overdraft limit come under “unfair contract “ rule making them subject to Office of Fair Trading regulation.
“This is a hugely important case – but I don’t think it goes far enough” said Ros Kayes, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for South Dorset. “The banks say they make £2.6 billion a year from these charges. They have the ordinary customer by the short & curlies here. If a payment goes out by direct debit & it’s been a difficult month, even the most careful customer can go over that limit all too easily.
“Perhaps if they win the case, another should be made for making them pay us the interest on the money they make by taking 5 working days to clear a payment into our accounts. I wonder how much they are making from us in that process, in an age when debits can be made at the push of a button. I applaud Nick Clegg & he is right – but all of these antiquated & unfair practices need to be challenged, not just one of them.”
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, has described the refusal of banks to repay unfair charges as “scandalous” & is tabling a parliamentary motion backing a campaign to force banks to repay them automatically, rather than making customers apply for them to do so.
Around a million customers have had refund claims frozen until the result of a test case that will decide whether fairness rules apply to charges of up to £35 a time for unauthorised use of overdrafts.
Seven major banks & a building society have asked the law lords to overturn rulings that the charges for making just one payment over an agreed overdraft limit come under “unfair contract “ rule making them subject to Office of Fair Trading regulation.
“This is a hugely important case – but I don’t think it goes far enough” said Ros Kayes, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for South Dorset. “The banks say they make £2.6 billion a year from these charges. They have the ordinary customer by the short & curlies here. If a payment goes out by direct debit & it’s been a difficult month, even the most careful customer can go over that limit all too easily.
“Perhaps if they win the case, another should be made for making them pay us the interest on the money they make by taking 5 working days to clear a payment into our accounts. I wonder how much they are making from us in that process, in an age when debits can be made at the push of a button. I applaud Nick Clegg & he is right – but all of these antiquated & unfair practices need to be challenged, not just one of them.”
A NEW KIND OF SCHOOL REFUSAL
PRIVATE SCHOOL’S REFUSAL TO ALLOW STATE SCHOOL USE OF FACILITIES IS SELFISHNESS IN CARNATE says South Dorset parliamentary candidate.
South Dorset’s Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate, Cllr Ros Kayes has slammed the Independent Schools’ Council (ISC) following a statement by its chief executive earlier this week that the LSC intends to challenge the Charity Commission in court.
The Commission has interpreted legislation passed in 2006 by insisting that schools should pass a new “public benefit test” to continue to qualify for charitable status & tax breaks worth millions of pounds every year.
That would mean allowing state pupils to use their facilities & having a number of free state bursaries to allow limited number of children from poor backgrounds to attend the schools for free.
“If the private schools challenge this”, said Ros, “it makes them no different from the banks ! In receipt of millions of pound of public money every year in the form of tax breaks because they claim to exist for charitable purposes. This stretches the definition of charity very far”, she continued. ”Fees at these schools are very high – more than most of us earn in a year for the top schools. In my opinion, with parents who can afford these fees, schools should not be claiming charitable status at all. It’s charity for the very rich.
The schools claim that without their existance, ordinary tax payers would be having to pay £3 to 4 million extra in taxes and therefore they ae already giving aid to the poor. “A ridiculous argument !” said Cllr Kayes. “ How much do the tax breaks schools receive already cost us in lost revenues that could be ploughed back into the state system. On the contrary, if private schools did not exist, those same parents would be sending their children to comprehensive schools & giving generously to those schools to ensure that their facilities were upgraded instead – improving education for all of us.
“It’s selfishness incarnate to seek to challenge legislation that attempts to make private schools take some responsibility for supporting the public sector & at least goes some way to improving education for all of us.”.
South Dorset’s Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate, Cllr Ros Kayes has slammed the Independent Schools’ Council (ISC) following a statement by its chief executive earlier this week that the LSC intends to challenge the Charity Commission in court.
The Commission has interpreted legislation passed in 2006 by insisting that schools should pass a new “public benefit test” to continue to qualify for charitable status & tax breaks worth millions of pounds every year.
That would mean allowing state pupils to use their facilities & having a number of free state bursaries to allow limited number of children from poor backgrounds to attend the schools for free.
“If the private schools challenge this”, said Ros, “it makes them no different from the banks ! In receipt of millions of pound of public money every year in the form of tax breaks because they claim to exist for charitable purposes. This stretches the definition of charity very far”, she continued. ”Fees at these schools are very high – more than most of us earn in a year for the top schools. In my opinion, with parents who can afford these fees, schools should not be claiming charitable status at all. It’s charity for the very rich.
The schools claim that without their existance, ordinary tax payers would be having to pay £3 to 4 million extra in taxes and therefore they ae already giving aid to the poor. “A ridiculous argument !” said Cllr Kayes. “ How much do the tax breaks schools receive already cost us in lost revenues that could be ploughed back into the state system. On the contrary, if private schools did not exist, those same parents would be sending their children to comprehensive schools & giving generously to those schools to ensure that their facilities were upgraded instead – improving education for all of us.
“It’s selfishness incarnate to seek to challenge legislation that attempts to make private schools take some responsibility for supporting the public sector & at least goes some way to improving education for all of us.”.
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