Haringey Council Has Once Again Defended Its Plans To Use £50 Million Of Private Funding For Education Insisting It's That Or Nothing.>

HARINGEY Council has once again defended its plans to use £50 million of private funding for education insisting it's that or nothing.

The authority wants to use the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) to create a new secondary school.

PFI allows local authorities to attract investment from private sector firms for education projects.

Some of the cash, which will be paid back in instalments, will be spent on repairs to existing school buildings.

The investing companies will manage and maintain the buildings over the 30-year span of the repayments.

But public sector trade union Unison has consistently opposed the principle of PFI.

It said it will open the door to complete privatisation of schools -- a claim strongly denied by Haringey Council.

All secondary school governing bodies must agree to accept the scheme before it can go ahead.

Governors at White Hart Lane School in Wood Green recently voted against PFI.

And now Unison is urging other governing bodies to reject the plans.

"We need full funding for schools, not private profit," said Haringey branch secretary Roy Irwin.

Haringey Council described the no vote as "premature" and said it was not part of the proper ballot.

Only when the final scheme was drawn up around October this year would the full vote take place, it insisted.

Four consortiums have come forward with proposals to take on all or parts of the PFI project.

London and Regional Properties/Wates Construction/WS Atkins and Jarvis have shown a firm interest.

Babcock and Brown/Ballast Wiltshire/Rentokil Initial Management Services/Sansome Partners and Balfour Beatty/Haden Management have also put in bids.

Haringey Council said PFI only concerned buildings, with governors and headteachers continuing to control education.

A spokeswoman said: "PFI is not perfect but it's the only option available.

"We would prefer it if the government gave the money in a different way but it has made it quite clear there is no alternative.

"We felt we would be letting down Haringey's children if we rejected the PFI formula because not going ahead would mean no new school and continued overcrowding and crumbling buildings." Doughnut fundraiser

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