Tories threaten cuts to hundreds of new schools in England

Ed Balls, Labour’s Schools Secretary, today responded to the Tory shadow schools minister’s admission that more than 750 new school building projects in 90 local authorities across England could be scrapped if the Tories are elected. These form part of Labour’s ambitious Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

Thousands of children in a further 50 local councils, that haven’t yet joined Labour’s BSF programme, could also lose out.

Ed Balls said:

"This revelation means hundreds of new school buildings right across the country face the axe if the Tories win the election. It's particularly shocking that even building projects which are already a long way down the track could be cancelled by the Conservatives in just a matter of weeks. That would be a huge blow to parents, teachers, pupils and local communities who have been waiting for their new school. Parents and teachers will know that the investment they have been waiting for is only safe and guaranteed under a re-elected Labour government."

The shadow schools minister Nick Gibb recently admitted that hundreds of BSF projects already in the pipeline would be at risk of cancellation. Only those which have reached ‘financial close’ would be safe. This means over 750 school building projects already underway across 90 local authorities are at risk of being scrapped.

At an event this morning shadow schools minister Nick Gibb was asked by a headteacher whether planned BSF schemes would go ahead even while a Tory government battled to cut the budget deficit. "If a scheme has got to financial close, that's it, it's going to happen," Gibb answered.
But pushed to make similar guarantees for schemes earlier in the programme, the shadow minister said: "What we're saying is if financial close has been reached, it will go ahead." If not, "then it won't be guaranteed." Decisions about whether to continue with projects will be made on a "case by case basis." Nick Gibb, shadow schools Minister, Education Investor, 25 February 2010


A table showing the schools capital funding allocated to each local authority can be downloaded here and School building projects which have not yet reached financial close can be seen here.