Gove was ‘repeatedly’ warned over school cuts list

At the Education Select Committee and another quango on death row is in the spotlight – Tim Byles, head of Partnership for Schools.

He has said repeatedly that he advised the secretary of state not to go ahead with publishing the (as it turned out error-strewn) list of schools whose building programmes were being axed.

The lists needed “validating” he says. There were legal worries – he says he knows of a number of local authorities now considering legal action.

Michael Gove’s special adviser is keeping a beady eye on the evidence … so is Ed Balls, who seems to have been very well-informed when he repeatedly accused Mr Gove of ignoring officials’ advice in publishing the lists precipitously.

Mr Byles says he wasn’t the source for those claims. Mr Gove, at the time, said he hadn’t over-ridden official advice but I seem to recall he never actually repeated those words in the Commons.