Byles dismisses MPs criticism of Schools for the Future Programme as risky

The head of the 黑洞社区 Schools for the Future programme defended the 拢45bn investment against claims it was too risky and misguided.

A report released today by the House of Commons Education Committee said there were risks associated with choosing the PFI procurement route, which will fund around half the rebuild. The report pointed to three PFI schools having to close as proof of problems with PFI.

Speaking on the Today programme this morning Tim Byles, Partnerships for Schools chief executive Tim Byles said there was a 鈥渞igorous approach鈥� to funding local schools and denied any issues with PFI as a procurement method. 鈥淲e want to make sure that every penny of public money is put to good use.鈥�

Byles added the investment in buildings need to 鈥渞un alongside鈥� investment in ICT and other services. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about bricks and mortar.鈥�

The parliamentary report, called Sustainable Schools: Are we building the schools for the future?, () called for more pre-planning time for the schools to come up with clear and sustainable projects. 鈥淭here is a strong argument that the initial 鈥榲isioning鈥� phase should be lengthened.鈥�

The committee also called for post-occupancy reviews of all BSF schools to assess what has gone well and what has caused difficulties.

And it stressed that more money should be promised up front to ensure that the buildings are as sustainable as possible:

鈥淲hile in Government accounting terms capital and revenue are always accounted for separately, it makes sense to shoulder higher capital costs if over the whole life of a building it has the same or lower costs as a building which is not constructed with the principle of carbon reduction in mind.鈥�