HEFCW admission shows devastating effect of education cuts - Randerson

9.22.00am GMT Wed 20th Jan 2010

Jenny Randerson is leading the fight for better university funding

Commenting on the written submission by HEFCW to the Assembly Finance Committee warning of possible compulsory redundancies and course cutbacks because of the Labour-Plaid cash squeeze in the education sector, Jenny Randerson, Welsh Lib Dem Shadow Education Minister said:

"Why can't the Labour-Plaid government see that cutting the education budget is going to have massive impact on our children's future and have a devastating effect on the health of our economy?

"Labour and Plaid Cymru are slashing 5% from across the University budget when they should be freezing central administration budgets and investigating the misspending of money in the NHS. The Welsh Lib Dems have presented fully costed plans to avoid slashing education funding but Labour and Plaid chose to ignore them.

"Ministers talk endlessly of building a high-tech knowledge economy but the very subjects needed to underpin this economy, such as science, technology, engineering and maths could become the victims of Labour and Plaid Cymru's cuts.

"The government also talks about protecting vital high skilled frontline jobs; however the cuts in their education budget could mean compulsory redundancies in these important lecturing positions, adding more people to the growing unemployment levels in Wales.

"If this Labour-Plaid government is serious about bringing the Welsh economy in line with that of the rest of the UK and increasing our skills base, we need to maintain investment in the key drivers for growth, with higher education paramount."

Ends.