No money for emergency kits

Press, 2 August 1985, Page 22

No money for emergency kits

PA Wellington Schools cannot afford to buy first aid and food supplies they are required by law to provide during civil defence emergencies, says the president of the Education Boards’ Association, Mr Clive Heskith. Mr Heskith said that the Civil Defence Act required education boards to equip schools with emergency kits for disasters, but they just did not have the money. “Some of the lists that I have seen of what they should have are quite hor-

rific in terms of the over all expense,” he said. Necessary supplies included blankets, shovels, food, and first aid supplies, said Mr Heskith. All of the boards’ money was marked for specific uses already, he said. While they wanted more Government money, the boards did not want it to be switched over from other areas of education. The Internal Affairs Department, rather than the Education Department, should pay for emergency supplies in schools, he said.