08:00 - 12-August-2008
Schools affected by last summer's floods will not get a slice of the Government's £27.92million repair grant to prevent future damage and rebuild new primary schools.
The council said it did not apply for funding because the schools were already insured and therefore ineligible for the grant.
But a spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCFS), said schools with insurance were still eligible for the money.
She said: "Gloucestershire County Council was notified in a letter from the department on October 8, 2007.
"The other local authorities (such as Hull, East Riding, Worcestershire and Merton) made their applications based on the criteria and some of them were insured.
"Although schools in Gloucestershire were insured, the council could have applied for a grant."
One school which is still struggling to find a way to prevent future flooding is Robinswood Primary School, in Matson, Gloucester.
Last month it learned the county council had no money to put towards flood prevention work and there are fears if it rains heavily again, the school could flood.
Headteacher Martin Latham said: "We have worked with the county and city councils to develop a plan which will prevent flooding in the future.
"We went back to the county council and we were then told there was no money to put it into place.
"I was totally unaware of this situation with the Government grant and I do find it surprising.
"It will be disappointing if Gloucestershire doesn't get any funds but the important thing is to look at the situation and see what we can do now.
"Something needs to be done or we will be flooded again."
Rob Newman, chairman of governors at Tredington Primary School, near Tewkesbury, which was affected by the floods in June felt the council should have tried to obtain the funding.
Mr Newman said: "If there's something to apply for, go for it and argue about whether you're eligible or not afterwards."
The county council received around £1m from the Government specifically for help with schools.
Total claims for flood damage for all Gloucestershire schools were around £2.5million.
The county council paid the first £100,000 excess on all property-related claims which meant it met all claims made by schools from its own reserves with one exception.
This was St David's Primary School in Moreton-in-Marsh where the claim was estimated at around £2m following major damage to the school.
In this case the council funded the first £100,000 and the insurance company found the balance.
Gloucestershire County Council cabinet member for environment and community, Coun Julie Girling, said: "We didn't apply because the Government said we weren't allowed to.
"The letter from DCFS clearly states that the grant is available for repair of flood damage to schools. It also clearly states that authorities with premises fully covered by insurance would not meet the DCFS acceptance criteria.
"Gloucestershire schools were all fully insured and therefore Gloucestershire County Council was not able to apply."
She said the council may write to the Government asking it to reopen the grant application process.
She said: "Flood damage has been repaired in Gloucestershire schools. It now seems some of this grant money has been allocated to authorities for new-build and not flood damage repair.
"We were never made aware this was available and that's what I'm furious with the Government about. We do have requirements for future resilience work in our schools and we are considering prioritisation from our own resources.
"We're working to raise money ourselves. We are also writing to the Government asking it to reopen this process and allocate the money fairly."
There are now calls by the county's Labour group for Coun Girling to resign because it believes she misled the public over the situation in a radio interview.
They are backed by Gloucester MP Parmjit Dhanda.
He said: "Schools like Robinswood Primary are suffering as a result of the debacle."
But Coun Girling said she would not resign, adding: "I have never misled anyone.
"Of course I won't stand down; my work on flood recovery is a matter of record and I shall continue to fight for the people of Gloucestershire."
John Rawson (LD), cabinet member for finance and culture at Cheltenham Borough Council and former mayor of Cheltenham during last year's floods, said: "It is an extraordinary state of affairs and there is a lot of explaining to do.
"Sadly we have lost out massively and our kids and schools are paying the price."
