Decision to revoke £1bn of funding for school repairs unlawful
Decision to revoke £1bn of funding for school repairs unlawful
A High Court judge has quashed Education Secretary Michael Gove’s proposal to cancel funding for schools under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
BSF, which began in 2004, aimed to rebuild or refurbish schools across the entire secondary school estate.
The secretary of state revoked £1bn of funding and adopted “rules-based criteria” to determine which school repairs should go ahead and which should be stopped.
In R (Luton Borough Council and Ors v Secretary of State for Education [2011] EWHC 217 (Admin), six local authorities challenged Gove’s decision on the basis he had failed to conduct proper consultation, to consider their individual circumstances and to comply with his duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Race Relations Act 1976.
They contended that he had acted irrationally and had breached their legitimate expectation that funding would continue.
The six authorities, represented by barristers from Brick Court Chambers, had built schools
