The Conservative leader of Birmingham City Council, Mike Whitby, launched a strong public defence of independently-run school academies shortly after his own education spokesman branded aspects of the Government-backed programme “immoral”.
In a clear sign of exasperation at the city council’s growing image nationally as a local authority apparently at odds with academies, Coun Whitby said he stood firmly behind the idea and welcomed applications from local schools wishing to convert.
His comments, which were delivered at a cabinet meeting, appeared to be aimed at his Tory colleague Les Lawrence, who holds the Children, Young People and Families portfolio and has been an outspoken critic of the coalition Government’s push for greater numbers of academies.
With Coun Lawrence sitting across the cabinet table, Coun Whitby said anyone who claimed the council was opposed to academies was “ill informed or malicious”.
The Birmingham Post reported an attack by Coun Lawrence at a private meeting of the Birmingham Schools Forum, where he said he was concerned that schools applying for academy status could force the council to bear the cost of any redundancies before leaving local authority control.
Such an outcome would be “immoral”, Coun Lawrence declared.
His comments were picked up by BBC Midlands Today’s Politics Programme, which featured an interview with Edgbaston Labour MP Gisela Stuart.
Mrs Stuart accused Birmingham City Council of attempting to resist the transfer of local authority-run schools to academy status.
Such a claim, if it were true, would bring the council into direct conflict with Education Secretary Michael Gove who is behind a drive to rapidly increase the rate at which schools become academies.
Coun Whitby said: “Let me make one thing clear. This administration supports academies.”
He said Birmingham had been at the forefront of helping to create the first city academies under the previous Labour Government and he was proud of the council’s achievements.
Seven schools have either converted or are in the process of converting to academy status, where they will be supported by independent financial backers and free from council control. Two more academies, specialising in engineering and the performing arts, are being built. At least 20 further schools have said they wish to become academies.
Coun Whitby said: “It is totally untrue that we are hindering academy programmes and it is unfair for anyone to go on television and say that we are. We are for academies. We are driving them forward. We will have academies that we can be proud of and people who say we are resisting them are ill informed or malicious.”
Last week, a report indicated that the council could face bills totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal fees.
The hidden costs are to cover changes in contracts for schools built under the Private Finance Initiative and the council is asking the Government to clarify the issue.
Coun Lawrence (Con Northfield) steered clear of commenting on the principle of academy status at the cabinet meeting, reserving his remarks for an attack on Mrs Stuart who he urged to remain quiet instead of making “ill-judged, inappropriate and unfair comments”.
