School buildings: councils win legal case

[onimolap]

Link here.

But am I right in thinking that this won't in itself mean any building programmes will be reinstated, as it is to do with process, not substance (IYSWIM), and even though the decision making process muct be re-done, the outcomes of the process could remain largely the same?

Anyone?

Judge described it as an abuse of power.

It's a utter utter waste of time and money.

Gove has already said there's no more money. So sure, now they all have to go through the correct "consultation process" at the end of which Gove will simply say "No!" again.

The council should just save themselves a lot of time, money & effort and just take it on the chin.

The person wasting everyone's time and money is Gove. Who should have known he was going way beyond his powers. Arse. And an arse who was caught with his fingers in the till over expenses, let's not forget.

Just because you are the secretary of state doesn't mean you can do whatever you like. There are these inconvenient things called laws.

'Gove has already said there's no more money.'
Ah, apart from the money set aside to pay for new building for free schools and academies.
Lots already committed, lots more on the way.
Strangely, there seems to be money for that
curiously

Giddy pickle yes you ARE missing something...
look here for the rogue's gallery... it is pretty equal ops, tbh. The expenses scandal took in all parties pretty much equally.

And I REALLY don't see that it's a 'waste of time' to make a person in a position of power and authority follow the rules in terms of consultation.
Consultation ensures that the person making a decision has all the facts in front of them, so they aren't making decisions without the full picture, and without taking into account all the consequences of that decision. That is good practice in all areas of life.
It is really a pretty poor argument to say 'Michael Gove doesn't have to consult because it won't change his mind ' but hold on, are you saying he doesn't want to hear the other side of the story in order to make a reasonable and fair and RIGHT decision??
Net thing you'll be telling me that ministers don't NEED to know any other points of view, because they know it all already

Well, the point is that there IS money (apparently) to pay for new free schools.
So perhaps if Michael Gove was to consult then he might think that it was a better decision to use that money for new schools to renovate / improve existing schools in a very poor state.

Money is available within government for a number of initiatives and projects and schemes. The decision has been made to spend it elsewhere.

Moreover, it is a very dangerous idea to say that there is a right to be consulted but that can be overridden if we have already made up our minds bad government, and bad policy.

They are making a habit of steamrollering ahead without bothering to go through the proper procedures. Not carrying out the required gender equality audit on the budget, for instance - because they are in office they think they can just attack women and children and sod the law. Making all this fuss about prisoners voting - they know full well it's the law, all this grandstanding is just a complete waste of time, effort and money. But they are happy to waste all three things when it suits them.

Giddy sounds like their ideal voter, though, quite happy to have an unaccountable government that doesn't bother to obey the law.

Just wondering: How much is the free school budget? I thought at least some was coming from the private sector, so how much is earmarked from the taxpayer?

What are the savings from abandoning BSF?

Giddy - the point is the government has been reminded that it is accountable and must obey the law. Ministers are not entitled to do whatever they like and ignore any rules that don't suit them. This is a good thing. Gove is responsible for any money that has been wasted - he chose to rush ahead and act way outside his actual powers.

onimolap:
The simple answer is - we don't know, because the government have refused (this week) to disclose how much government money has been committed here's the report

At least 15 schools of the first 35 have been promised government funding. One of those, it's reported, costs £15m.

BUT remember there is NO MONEY FOR SCHOOLS.

Just to put the numbers in context.

The Building Schools for the Future programme had a total budget of £55bn.

The Free Schools budget is currently £50m. So about 1000th of the BSF budget.

There is a review looking for more cost effective ways of meeting the school buildings requirement (the James Review).

It's not about whether or not there's a mystical pot of money or not. The fact is the very person who made the decision in the first place is still the one who will make the decision the next time.

And if I were a betting man, I somehow don't think after the "consultation" period has ended that he'll change his mind.

also always a wake up call to hear politicians describing the public consultation process as a 'technicality'

Mercy - I agree. Although it's interesting that it's ok to committ the UK tax payer to £55bn (much of it PFI debt) without consultation.

The last government spent with little accountability. But this one gets every cut scrutinised.

I wonder what implications that has for future governments?

BSF was over the top. But the cuts meant that schools who had already spent thousands of pounds planning for really needed rebuilds and were just about to have the paper work signed... had the funding taken away. So those schools now have less money to spend - not the same as they had before - less. Because they have already spent staff time, architects fees, legal fees etc to get these bids put though.

In my area the current 'phase' of BSF was a few weeks away from being finalised. It had been worked on for years and was weeks away from legal completion. 2 of the schools I know about became co-ed from single sex on the basis that they would receive this money to rebuild part of their facilities and add vital things like toilets and changing rooms. They now have no money for the rebuild - but have to take girls/boys with no facilities for them! Similarly another local school has a building with no disabled access, a roof that leaks whenever it rains heavily, windows that are unsafe and a heating system that is either off (freezing in winter) or on full (you have to have the windows and doors open - really healthy in winter!)

But the local academy gets a complete rebuild - despite not actually needing it (relatively new building anyway with a swimming pool - something no other school has!).

There was, and is, no logic or understanding behind a lot of the cuts. That is why they need to be scrutinised.