EDUCATION secretary Gillian Keegan has weighed in on a debate over school place allocations in Workington.

The Secretary of State for Education responded to a letter written to her by Labour candidate for Workington and Whitehaven Josh MacAlister, telling him that the council has a statutory obligation to provide places for children in the town.

In March, it emerged that 56 children who named Workington Academy - the town's only 'secular' secondary - as their first choice had not been awarded a place, leading to Workington MP Mark Jenkinson to write to Cumberland council regarding the issue.

Later that month Mr MacAlister wrote to Gillian Keegan asking that the department 'urgently releases the capital investment needed' from the underspend in its existing budget, saying that approximately £10million is needed and The Department for Education has an underspend of at least £830million for 2023-24.

Earlier this month, Mrs Keegan responded to the letter from the Labour candidate saying the department did not 'recognise the underspend' he had referred to, telling him it was the council's statutory duty to allocate school places in Workington.

Mark Jenkinson MP said: “The Labour candidate has been well and truly schooled by the Education Secretary. 

“He knows full well that local education provision is the responsibility of the Labour-led council, yet he consistently fails to call them out on anything - bin strikes, planning failures, bus cuts, potholes and now school places are all ignored.

“As the Education Secretary has indicated in her reply, Cumberland Council has a statutory duty to provide sufficient school places.

“The level of capital funding provided to schools annually by the Government is based on the local authority’s own assessment, yet the data it provided indicated that no extra places were required. This is despite the council’s projections suggesting that there may not be a single 11-16 school place available at all in Workington in just a couple of years.

However, Mr MacAlister has said that the government 'can't hide the truth' from the people of Workington saying the independent National Audit Office have highlighted the need for extra funding from the department.

Labour candidate for Whitehaven and Workington Josh MacAlister said: “Mr Jenkinson can create all the alternative facts he chooses but he can’t hide the truth from the people of Workington.

“The independent National Audit Office have highlighted a massive underspend from the Department for Education’s capital budget. Cumbria Education Trust have asked for a modest sum to allow them to build a new sixth form building which would also free up capacity for 11-16 year olds at Whitehaven and Workington academies.

“That request, it would seem from this letter responding to my campaign, has been rejected by his government.

“Perhaps instead of trying to find a way to blame everything on Cumberland Council he could work with me, with local school leaders and with parents to convince his government to change its mind and provide the funding needed to expand school places."