ture Programme

directly affecting Schools in Arlesey & Sto tfold - Central Bedfordshire Council - Cllr Hayley Whitaker

As a new administration, we have pledged to be as open and honest as possible, so we felt it was impor tant to share this news at the earliest oppor tunity The SFF programme has always focused on the mo ve to wards a two - tier educational system to impro ve educational ou tcomes for all children and young people. Alongside this, the programme included ambitious plans to create additional school capacity in line with the housing gro wth set ou t in the Local Plan. When the new administration took o ver at Central Bedfordshire Council, we became aware that while work pushed ahead with the programme the full f inancial cost to the Council was no t kno wn and has no t been included in the current Council budget calculations.

The current best estimate for deliver y o f the current Schools for the Fu ture programme is a to tal o f c£300 million. Of this to tal cost, only £48.5m has been included in the Council’s four-year medium- term f inancial plan, or budget, and there are currently no plans in place for ho w the to tal cost o f the programme is to be funded. As a new administration, it would be wrong for us to continue with the current plans for the Schools for the Fu ture programme that are no t budgeted for withou t taking the time to thoroughly consider and plan for such a signif icant spend o ver the coming years. We want to reassure you that we remain to tally committed to the transition from a three to t wo tier education system bu t need to develop a budget to deliver this programme o f work We will be taking the next few months to understand the full f inancial cost o f the programme and develop a strategy to ensure fu ture

Plans Are Affordable In Our Budget

We recognise that you and your schools have already experienced setbacks with the Schools for the Fu ture Programme and and that this announcement will cause fur ther uncer tainty

This is no t a decision we have taken lightly, bu t it is the responsible thing to do We will continue to suppor t your local schools as plans emerge and you can always f ind the latest status o f your school within our plans at the Schools for the Fu ture website: www.schoolsfor thefu ture.co.uk

CRIME FIGURES for Arlesey (April 2023)

We have had several requests to rever t back to repor ting the local crime f igures as quo ted on the local Police uk website

We will repor t these on a monthly basis (please remember the f igures will be a couple o f months prior to publication due to the police crime repor ting system )

V iolence & Sexual Offences - 12

Other Crime - 7

Vehicle Crime - 3

Anti- social behaviour - 2

Public Order - 1

Drugs - 1

Source: www police co uk