The Local Government Association says it is particularly important that the announcement is made soon because the scheme has been oversubscribed and many headteachers are likely to find they need to make other plans instead of relying on government funds.

A survey by the association found the bids had been submitted for at least 476 schools, although the total figure may be higher because some councils did not respond to requests for information.

However, the funding available is expected to pay for the refurbishment of 300 schools at most.

Birmingham has bid for funding for 19 schools, including 16 to be improved and three new schools. Coventry has bid for funding for seven schools, Sandwell has bid for 17, Walsall has bid for six and Worcestershire has bid for funding for one primary school.

Birmingham MP Richard Burden (Lab Northfield), who said: “The first question is, why the delay? Building Schools for the Future was cancelled a long time ago.

“There are schools in Birmingham, including my constituency, which urgently need this funding.

“Birmingham is crawling with officials from the Department for Education, but they are busy trying to force schools to become academies. Mr Gove should tell his officials to spend more time and resources worrying about the fabric of our schools instead.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “There has been huge interest in the Priority School Building Programme. We are carefully assessing and reviewing each application.

"We make no apologies for having a fair, thorough and rigorous bidding process. We are taking our time to get this right and will announce our decisions as soon as we can.”

Leaked e-mails have revealed Mr Gove’s frustration with the row which followed his decision to cancel the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which had been criticised by a Commons inquiry for being badly managed and offering no guarantees that money was being well spent.

In one leaked e-mail, sent using his wife’s e-mail account, he discussed legal action taken by Black Country council Sandwell and other local authorities to challenge his decision, writing: “BSF judicial review…..(AAAAAARGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!)”