This week we put readers' questions to the education spokesmen for Britain's biggest political parties ahead of next week's general election. We asked the Lib Dem's David Laws for his views on the key issues.

Will you commit to rebuilding and refurbishing our tired school estates?

Yes. We are committed to continuing with the Building Schools for the Future programme. Only the Conservatives would cut this.

Some of the schools near us are so bad no-one would want to send their children there. Would you get tough on failing schools?

Yes. We are proposing a radical change in school funding, putting in an extra £2.5bn to raise funding levels for the poorest pupils to private school levels. We will also free teachers and headteachers from central Government control so they have the freedom to make the decisions they feel best to improve their schools.

We need to cut down on kids travelling on public transport to get to schools far away. It is safer for kids and makes a sense of community stronger when local kids are in local schools. Do you agree?

Yes, and this is a problem that happens far too often. Our ambition is to ensure every child can go to an excellent local school. That's why we are committing extra money to raise standards across all schools in every area of the country.

We’ve got a massive shortage of primary school places in our borough – how are you going to tackle this problem when there’s no money to spend?

It's true that money is tight, which is the Liberal Democrats have made clear exactly what their priorities are and how they will be paid for. Our biggest spending commitment is to invest an extra £2.5bn in schools, which will benefit all schools and allow headteachers to meet their needs in the way they feel best. In some cases that will mean taking on extra teachers and creating more places, in others it will mean reducing class sizes or providing extra one-to-one tuition.

Are you backing the boycott of SATs exams?

No. We understand the concerns about Key Stage 2 tests, where the quality of external marking is shockingly bad, and these need to be urgently reviewed. The Liberal Democrats want these tests to be scaled back, with much more internal teacher assessment and external checks to guarantee quality and consistency. We also need the league tables to be changed so that they reflect the performance of individual schools and not merely the catchment area they are in. However, we don't believe that school testing policy should be dictated by the teaching unions, it must be decided by the democratically elected government.

I’m a teaching assistant and my school is concentrating its efforts on helping a minority of pupils who might get 5A*-C, including english and maths, to boost our place in the league tables. Is this fair?

Labour’s league tables are unfair, encouraging schools to focus on those pupils at the key “C/D” borderline and not those at the top, or those who are struggling. We would reform them and make them fair, so that they take into account the achievements of all pupils – not just those in the middle.

I’m at college and I want to go to uni – but don’t want to end up with massive debts. Will you charge students for higher education?

No. We want to phase out tuition fees over six years, including immediately scrapping final year fees for people studying for their first degree. We will vehemently oppose any attempt by Labour and the Tories to raise fees.