Modern school buildings – over 1,100 new schools were built since 1997 – remain one of Labour's great educational legacies. And while there may well be savings to be made in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme through more standardised plans, it is deeply worrying to see the coalition treating the abandonment of school building plans almost as a badge of pride.
While there may be a good case for some cuts in revenue spending, the cuts in buildings investment cannot but hinder the recovery, damaging the construction sector. This is an investment in the future that should not be treated as an optional extra.
Chancellor George Osborne effectively acknowledged in his Budget speech that previous Tory governments mistakenly cut capital investment during earlier recessions. It remains to be seen how the capital programme emerges after this review of BSF: but a return to the days of crumbling schools in the 1990s would not only be bad for education, it would be bad for the economy and future growth.
No wonder business confidence is ebbing from the economy.
Conor Ryan was senior adviser on education to David Blunkett and Tony Blair. He blogs at www.conorfryan.blogspot.com
