In a week in which Lynne Featherstone has made education a key theme of her campaign, the Lib Dem candidate and local councillor has uncovered an extraordinary blunder which has left residents in Muswell Hill missing out on vital additional school places in the area. St James’s Primary School in Muswell Hill has missed out on money needed for its expansion after Haringey Council appeared to submit figures to the Government showing there as a surplus of school places in the area.

In a letter to Ms Featherstone on the funding bid from Education Minister Stephen Twigg, he writes:

“The bid did not demonstrate the need for additional school places. In fact, the information presentedshowed there were surplus school places available. Officials subsequently contacted London Diocese to explain that the information submitted was incorrect.”

Ms Featherstone has described the revelation as “extraordinary”. Local parents and Lib Dem councillors have been warning for several years about the growing shortage of primary school places in the west of Haringey. Lib Dems say that Labour has done too little, too late to sort out the problem, and has had to resort to a panic expansion programme.

Cllr Featherstone comments:

“I find it extraordinary that we have a local school ready, willing and able to expand, and that this has been the result. Given that this was in the 2003/4 bidding round, these places could well have been available by now, and much heartache would have been avoided. Haringey must take responsibility, as the bid has been wrecked.I hope the school will be bidding again, and if elected I will be making support for it one of my top priorities.”