The Secretary of State for Education announced on 5 July 2010 that he is halting the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. This includes stopping the £257m investment in Wigan secondary schools. Wigan Council, schools and our partners had worked hard on presenting a compelling case for change which was accepted by government and on joint LEP procurement with Salford Metropolitan Council. This put us ahead of many other local authorities. The future of the primary capital programme is not yet known.
The government has also announced a review of all capital investment in schools, early years and sixth forms which will inform spending from 2011-2015. The review commenced in July 2010 and a forward plan for capital investment over the next spending review periods will be produced b y the end of the calendar year.
Schools in Wigan have put in considerable effort to ensuring we were ready to move forward with the BSF programme and this groundwork will hopefully put us in a strong position when any future investment programmes are announced. We are still committed to our vision to transform learning to give current and future generations, opportunities beyond their dreams by improving the range and accessibility of positive activities for all children and young people. We will continue to work with schools and our partners to identify any alternative sources of funding in the future.
