Schools need more money and less red tape, Lib Dems tell education debate

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 25th May 2001

Hounslow's two Liberal Democrat candidates united to call for more investment and less bureaucracy in education at a debate held on Thursday evening.

Andy Darley (Feltham and Heston) and Gareth Hartwell (Brentford and Isleworth) stressed the party's commitment to fund major improvements in education with a one-penny increase in income tax.

Among the pledges highlighted were a cut in primary class sizes to an average of 25, the recruitment of 5,000 extra secondary teachers and 1,000 extra early years specialists, and an increase in funding for books and equipment.

Gareth Hartwell said:

"Teachers are fed up with bureaucracy and want to get back to teaching. We will cut red tape, scrap SATs for 7-year-olds and trim the National Curriculum.

"Ann Keen promised the earth at the teachers' debate in 1997 as well and since then class sizes in Hounslow have risen and the pupil teacher ratio has got worse. The Tories offer nothing except a greater burden for schools by scrapping much existing LEA support."

Andy Darley called for refugees with teaching qualifications to be fast-tracked, in the same way refugee doctors are, so they can help solve the recruitment crisis in British schools.

Condemning Conservative asylum policies as "disgusting", he said Labour had failed to deal with the complicated system that leaves refugee teachers waiting for years before they can work here in their chosen field.