Coventry MPs attack state of city's schools

The state of some schools in Coventry - including one where the ceiling collapsed - has been attacked in parliament by MPs from the city.

Richard Lee and Woodlands schools were among the examples given by the three Labour MPs during a debate.

The government stopped a national rebuilding scheme last July leaving one of 22 projects in the city going ahead.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said it was up to the council how it spends money allocated for schools.

The MP for Coventry North East, Bob Ainsworth, said the ceiling collapsed at Richard Lee School last week.

'Not good enough'

"Last Thursday, the ceiling came down in one of the corridors," he said.

"Fortunately, the rainstorm was at night.

"There were no children in the building and it was teacher training day the next day so their education was not dreadfully disrupted."

Coventry South MP Jim Cunningham said a central block at the Woodlands School in his constituency has been held up by scaffolding for five years and it is now starting to collapse due to wear and tear.

"That really isn't good enough," he said.

Geoffrey Robinson, who represents North-West Coventry, also condemned the state of a city school.

But Mr Gibb, said it was more efficient for the city council to decide how it spends its school maintenance budget.

He said: "It's better to allocate the bulk of capital to the local authority for them to decide where the greatest needs exist, rather than allocating more of that money down to the school level."