County's £1 billion bid hope (From Redhill And Reigate Life)

County's £1 billion bid hope

12:46pm Thursday 27th November 2008

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Surrey County Council is to bid for £1 billion of Government and private sector cash to revolutionise secondary school buildings and infrastructure across the county.

The council has announced it will submit its "Expression of Interest" to enter the Building Schools for the Future programme - BSF - to the Department for Children, Schools and Families at the end of November.

The council will find out next year if it has been successful in the first stage of its bid, so that it can then begin a programme to radically improve school buildings in the county over the next 20 years.

For the submission, the council will have to decide on the criteria as to the type of school and the area of the county that might first benefit from the programme.

This decision is restricted by tight Government guidelines that place particular significance on deprivation and educational attainment data.

Peter Martin, Surrey County Council's Executive Member for Schools, Children and Youth Services, said: "Surrey has not yet been able to benefit from this national programme as the Government has prioritised funding for authorities with high levels of deprivation and social need."

He said: "The BSF process is complex and it will be several years before we see the fruits of any investment in Surrey, but the chance to bid for up to £1 billion of investment into our schools cannot be missed.

"Eventually all areas of Surrey will have their share of the funding."

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