The county council has yet again betrayed people in St Albans by failing to provide enough school places for primary age children. In all 133 children did not get any of the primary schools their parents asked for.

Some children aged as young as four will now be bussed around the county to find the few available places in the system. One in ten children are this morning without a proper place – despite frequent warnings from the Liberal Democrats in recent years that a new school would have to be built.

Chris White commented: ‘When we last had a briefing, it was clear that a year had gone by without any work being done by the wholly incompetent Children’s Schools and Families Department – a part of the county council that puts the laughable Herts Highways in the shade when it comes to poor service and inefficiency..

‘This is children’s lives. Heads must now roll. The Conservative councillor presiding over this mess must now step down and the CSF department needs to be reorganised from top to bottom.’

Chris adds: ‘Parents should protest to county hall and mount appeals. I am happy to receive any correspondence from angry parents so that I can show the county council chief executive what this council has done to local people.’