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The council are running two more ‘recession workshops’ for local businesses.

The first is tonight (Wednesday 29 April) for businesses based in Wandsworth, Earlsfield and Southfields.  It is being held at Blend, 111-113 Wandsworth High Street at 7pm.  Attendees will be lucky enough to hear me speak on the council’s reponse.

The second is tomorrow (Thursday 30 April) for Clapham Junction businesses.  Held at Battersea Arts Centre on Lavender Hill it starts at 5.45pm.

GLE oneLondon will be at both events to provide advice and are offering ongoing mentoring to businesses.  Both will also provide networking opportunities for attendees.

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Last month brought the news that the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) were freezing funding for building projects in colleges across the country.  South Thames College was just one of the colleges affected, being in the middle of a two phase rebuilding of their Wandsworth site.  Other colleges were even unluckier, having demolished their buildings to be told the money to replace them wouldn’t be there!

Yesterday saw the publication of Sir Andrew Foster’s report on what went wrong, few people come out of it in a good light.  But even though it was a government commissioned report – and presumably expected to come to the ‘right’ answers – it failed to exonerate the Department for Innovation, Universities and Schools (DIUS).  Sir Andrew concluded “that the crisis was predictable and probably avoidable.” He also failed to identify any reason why DIUS didn’t intervene and stop the LSC making promises it just couldn’t afford to keep.

The funding crisis was made public in last month, March 2009 – but it was revealed the LSC knew they had a problem in February 2008, over a year earlier, and that DIUS officials knew in May 2008.  Despite this the LSC were allowed to continue the making their spending promises.  In fact they managed to make promises that would have swallowed their entire capital budget for three years by the end of 2008!

The subject was debated at last night’s full council meeting with Labour trying to suggest that the Government had no responsiblity.  I’m aware that we often play the blame game in this country, and while I’m not keen on being part of it, where does the buck stop on this one?  When the DIUS gives the LSC its budget, isn’t it reasonable to expect them to at least keep an eye on the spending?  And when DIUS officials are part of the LSC’s decision making process, isn’t it reasonable for them to raise questions and call a halt when there are obvious problems?

Even worse, at the same time the minister was doing nothing about this crisis he was issuing a press release celebrating his commitment to and investment in the further education sector.  Left hand, meet right hand.

The council resolved to lobby the LSC and the Secretary of State to get South Thames College’s funding reinstated, but frankly it’s hard to imagine the current lot of ministers having the competence to rectify their failings.

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South Thames College has become the latest victim of the government’s rudderless interpretation of the ship of state.

The college has been undergoing a dramatic makeover recently, with new facilities being built to the rear of their Wandsworth High Street site the next phase was on the listed front of the building. Despite having got agreement in principle and being told the money had been ringfenced for them, the college is now told the money just isn’t there.

The government were aware of the problems six months ago. On yesterday’s Today programme Education Minister Siôn Simon accepted that one of his officials had attended meetings, but that the minutes just weren’t very detailed, and didn’t really cover the funding problems until late last year. So that’s all right then.

All the time this gives the impression of a government that seems to know the game is up, and is just going through the motions until the electorate get the chance to blow the whistle. Unfortunately South Thames College, and the people employed on the work there, are amongst those paying the price on this one.