STOCKTON Sixth Form College was one of a number of UK colleges which had projects put on hold despite having everything ready for work to start on a new £22m building when the Department for Education and Skills ran out of money.

At a Westminster debate in March, Liberal Democrat MP for Southport John Pugh called for immediate action, saying: “Ministers have raised expectations by announcing that capital projects will be brought forward. Colleges worked to meet the expectations, but have faced financial strains and uncertainty as to whether the building programme will ever get going.”

Colleges were led up a garden path of hope and left in limbo by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funding body.

Stockton Sixth Form College now finds that it is not one of the 13 of 144 waiting colleges that will get funds to go ahead. It will make campus improvements, but not on the scale planned when encouraged by the LSC. It had already spent £2m on plans and developments.

Stockton Liberal Democrats support the college’s position.

We ask why it was left high and dry by the funding council and ask for rightful compensation for its effort and expenditure on what proved to be a wild goose chase for funding.

Jacquie Bell, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Stockton South.