The Conservatives have accused local authorities of overspending on consultants when delivering the 黑洞社区 Schools for the Future programme

Michael Gove, the shadow children鈥檚 secretary, said figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed that 拢170m was spent on consultants. He said this raised concerns over cost control on the government鈥檚 拢45bn programme which, he added, had already suffered from delays and escalating costs.

The Conservative party said only 15 local authorities had any changes made to their schools, leaving most of the UK鈥檚 secondary schools undergoing no improvements at all.

Gove said the public needed 鈥渁 government that is able to get more for less鈥�. The attack renews fears the Tories would abolish delivery body Partnerships for Schools (PfS) if they win the election.

PfS said it allowed local authorities a free hand when deciding how much to spend on consultants. 鈥淲e give an indicative steer that councils should expect to spend about 3% of the total value of their BSF schemes to ensure successful delivery locally,鈥� he said.

She added that the Tories鈥� numbers were out of date, pointing out that 120 schools had now opened across 32 local authorities.

Topics