‘The plans were over ambitious and not deliverable’ was not what the government wanted Tim Byles, Chief Executive at Partnerships for Schools, to say about the £45bn flagship BSF programme. His candor in admitting that of the 100 schools due this year just 14 will be delivered, unleashed a tsunami of spin from the DfES, Whitehall and the Labour Party, saying things like, ‘this is a natural slowdown’ and ‘the construction industry lacks capacity due to NHS building and the Olympics’.
What seems to have been overlooked is that Byles also expects there to be fewer schools at the end of BSF in 2020. Part of this will be due to demographics, but we suspect few parents and school governors are aware that many BSF schools will be far larger than their predecessors, an educational and political issue.
Improving the built environment across education is important. Trying to achieve this through a strategy conceived by civil servants and directed by a weak NDPB (P4S) and then expecting Local Authorities to lead complex, long-term multimillion pound PPP contracts with private sector consortia was always a disaster waiting to happen. About all that can be said in favour of P4S is that Byles’ (the former head of Norfolk County Council) open and forthright style has lifted his team’s morale and been welcomed by the private sector. In the five months since he was appointed, Byles has had more impact on BSF than his predecessors, Richard Bowker and David Goldstone.
Of all the criticism that can be thrown at BSF, some of the most damaging may come to bite David Miliband, rising star of Labour politics. It was he, who as Schools Minister in 2005 said, ‘Through Building Schools for the Future we have a unique opportunity to tackle a generation of under-investment in our schools and provide all young people with the facilities they deserve, to raise aspirations and deliver high quality education’. The board of P4S chaired, by Michael Grabiner of Apax Partners, should also be replaced, but we doubt the government would be so bold.
