Rumours of BSF suspension are quashed
- Published: 15 October 2007 13:56
- Author: Richard Vaughan
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 15 October 2007 13:56
- Reader Responses
The agency charged with delivering the government's ambitious Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme has rubbished claims that the initiative has been halted
The agency charged with delivering the government's ambitious Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme has rubbished claims that the initiative has been halted.
Partnership for Schools (PfS) has issued a statement quashing a report in today's Telegraph that said ministers have stopped BSF to allow them to review the £45 billion programme.
PfS chief executive Tim Byles (pictured) said: 'BSF has not been halted, as has been misreported. A forthcoming consultation with local authorities will consider the best order in which the remaining local authorities will enter the programme.
'Every single local authority will be rebuilding and renewing their secondary schools by 2015, making a real and tangible difference to students, teachers and the wider local communities across the country.'
The BSF programme has come under heavy fire recently, especially in regards to the procurement process.
The AJ reported last month that the price of a primary school is lost with every bid for a lucrative BSF contract (Each BSF bid 'costs the same as a new primary school). The process is now the subject of an in-depth review by auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Byles added: 'As the Education Select Committee has recently acknowledged, it is more important to get this investment right rather than just to spend the money quickly.
'BSF isn't about throwing up new schools as quickly as possible and hoping for the best; it's about transforming education for millions of young people, providing environments and facilities that will help every single one of them unlock the talents that they have, regardless of their background. We make no apology for taking the time to get this right.'
