‘Government’s free schools policy unsustainable’, warns Hackney MP

: Meg Hillier chairs the public accounts committee. Photograph: Max Eckersley

Local MP Meg Hillier has condemned Whitehall’s free schools policy after the committee she chairs released a damning report on its “wasteful” use of taxpayers’ money.

The public accounts committee accused the Department for Education (DfE) of spending “well over the odds” for sites so it can hit the government’s target of creating 500 free schools by 2020.

In the report, MPs from across the political spectrum questioned whether the DfE was making the “best use of the limited funds available” when 60 per cent of the country’s schools are “old or in poor condition”.

Hillier said: “The DfE needs to spend at least £6.7 billion just to get all school buildings to a satisfactory state.

“But the DfE is choosing to open new free schools in areas which do not need them and are failing to fill places.

“This is taxpayer’s money that could be used to fund much needed improvements in thousands of existing school buildings. This is not a long-term sustainable approach to our children’s education.”

One case mentioned in the report is the government’s purchase of a former police station in Hillier’s Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency.

The site was bought for £7.6 million despite being valued at £3 million less than a year earlier.

The old station was intended to be the new home of the Olive School, an Islamic faith free school, but Hackney Council blocked the move, highlighting concerns that it would increase traffic congestion in a conservation area.

The school, which remains housed in temporary accommodation in Stoke Newington, has appealed the council’s decision.

The committee’s report, which was published yesterday, added: “Having enough school places in safe, high-quality buildings in the areas where places are needed is a crucial part of an effective education system.

“Without this, parents may have less choice, pupils may have inconvenient journeys to school and the learning environment may be less effective, putting educational outcomes at risk.”

The committee, whose fifteen MPs include eight Conservatives, went on to say: “In the context of severe financial constraints, it is vital that the DfE uses its funding in a more coherent and cost-effective way.”

In March, politicians and parents in Hackney warned of an impending school funding crisis.

National Audit Office (NAO) figures showed schools in the borough are set to lose over £11 million of funding in real terms by 2020.

According to Unison, one of several trade unions leading a joint School Cuts campaign, Hackney will be the fifth biggest loser in the country.