SCHOOL Minister David Miliband has promised that cash for a £150million transformation of schools in Burnley and Pendle is on the way.

He told Burnley MP Peter Pike that he had a 100 per cent commitment to Lancashire County Council's bid to rebuild the majority of schools in Burnley, and some in Pendle.

Mr Pike was shocked when the bid to redevelop schools in the area was shelved by the Department for Education and Skills.

Lancashire County Council wanted to bulldoze secondary schools in Burnley and replace them with state-of-the-art "super schools".

The aim was to end the admissions problems which have plagued secondary schools in the borough for years, and tackle problems of white and Asian pupils failing to mix which were identified in the report into the Burnley riots.

When the government announced its £2.2billion programme last month it put Burnley and Leicester on a reserve list. At the time Mr Pike said this was not good enough.

But now he has met Mr Miliband, who assured him that he had a "100 per cent commitment" to Burnley schools and the money was 'in the pipeline'.

Mr Pike met with Mr Miliband to discuss the issue and told him that he was meeting with Jack Bennett, the key Lancashire County Council official in charge of the Burnley and Pendle project tomorrow .

Mr Miliband told Mr Pike that the development of the scheme for Burnley and Pendle was at exactly the same stage in taking things forward as the 10 approved projects under the "building schools for the future" programme.

Mr Pike said: "As soon as the cash figures involved in Burnley and Pendle schools become clearer, I understand that the money can be made available.

"The minister stressed to me that he was 100 per cent committed to seeing all the new schools built in Burnley and Pendle and that that was going to happen.

"I feel 100 per cent confident that we are going to see our schools move forward into the 21st century and the ministers words have reassured me that it will happen sooner, rather than later.

"There are difficult issues involved in this, but everyone is working together to deliver and this is a really exciting project.

"Tomorrow I will pass on Mr Miliband's assurances to Mr Bennett and other key figures at Lancashire County Council."

A Department of Education and Skills source said: "Mr Miliband is committed to improving Burnley and Pendle schools as soon possible as he told Mr Pike."