Building Schools for the Future: Essex
Written parliamentary question to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families

Source: Hansard

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make it his policy to bring forward capital spending under the Building Schools for the Future programme in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point for economic reasons; and if he will make a statement. [263281]

Jim Knight: It is not our policy to bring forward Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment to act as a fiscal stimulus because of the strategic planning that underpins BSF. BSF typically involves the building of entire new schools; so design and planning need care and time. Accelerating the construction would curtail
this planning and would thereby jeopardise the quality and transformational nature of the programme. We are however working with Partnerships for Schools to simplify procedures and accelerate delivery, and the procurement process has already been accelerated and costs reduced.
BSF investment already announced and in the pipeline provides substantial underpinning to the construction industry. It is now building momentum so that by 2011, over 200 revamped or rebuilt schools will be being opened. Over 1,000 BSF schools across 80 local authorities already engaged in the programme. This includes two major school investment projects in Castle Point which are proceeding on schedule for delivery in 2012.
In December 2008, we offered local authorities the opportunity to bring forward schools capital allocations from 2010-11 into 2009-10 where they could accelerate projects to provide

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