Mike Penning has met with Schools Minister, Jim Knight, to discuss the future of Hemel's threatened primary schools.

Hemel Hempstead MP, Mike Penning, has met with Schools Minister Jim Knight in his bid to secure funding to enable threatened primary schools to remain open – at least until decisions about the expansion of the town are made.

At a time when the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is attempting to impose 12,000 new homes in the town, it is obvious that there will be a demand for more school places in the near future. Even if the threat of 12,000 new homes doesn’t materialise, we are still required to build 8,000 extra homes in the town.

The meeting was triggered by Mike Penning’s letter to Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Alan Johnson in which he called for “…some joined up departmental thinking so at least these schools could be funded while the ongoing negotiations in relation to the new homes is being carried out.”

Mike Penning said:

“I impressed upon the Minister the common sense behind the suggestion. It is a short-sighted move to close schools while at the same time proposing the largest increase in house-building since the construction of the new town in the 1950s. These schools are well-established and have a lot of local support.”

After the meeting, Mike said:

“It was a very positive and constructive meeting and the Minister has agreed to take the proposal forward at the highest level. He will now approach the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Ruth Kelly about the issue.”

“At this stage we can’t expect much more than that, but I will pursue this matter until every avenue is exhausted. I hope the Government will see the sense in providing sufficient funding for these schools and waive the requirements about student numbers – at least until we know for sure about the number of new houses to be built in the town.”