Re~Stirred Forum

Just been asked to sign a petition by the following, you cannot trust the Tories.

Dear friends across the UK,



The UK Government is selling off school land to rich developers across the country, leaving kids with nowhere to play. Education Secretary Michael Gove is under pressure, and we can stop the latest sale. Let's end the school fields sell-off once and for all -- sign the petition!


Education Secretary Michael Gove is selling off our school sports fields to rich property developers at a staggering rate -- leaving a generation of British kids with nowhere to play. But he’s overreached with his latest sell-off attempt, and if we stand together now we can stop him.

Rather than investing in education, Gove is on the verge of approving the sale of school fields at Elliott School in London -- the latest in a string of 21 sales under his watch. This could turn almost half of the school’s grounds into luxury residential apartments. But under growing community pressure, Gove is hesitating, sending out conflicting messages about whether he approves the sell-off.

The local community is already mobilising against the sale, and a strong national outcry supporting this opposition can force Gove to back down and save these school fields -- sign the petition now and share with everyone you know:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Save_Londons_school_fields/?bdDpLab&v=17158

Quite, add to that the £165 million per year in cuts to funding for sports in schools. the taking away of 2hr lesson in sport per week rule.
We can see how committed this government isnt to sport in schools. Acadamies are not even checked for sports lessons.
How many fields are being sold off in private , and public schools? this is a case of a 2 tier society.

Remember 4000-5000 sold under Major too.

Your right Beefheart, wonder what the whole count would be?, didn't Michael Gove say he wouldn't sell the latest 21 school playing fields? then changed his mind?

they will sell anything they can, that is the tory mantra ...

up to the local communities and councillors to stop it

opps, the new planning regs make that impossible

Mind you for balance, I wonder how many were sold under the Blair/Brown years?

Do people fact check petitions before they sign them? Or do they just see the name 'Gove' get an 'anti' gist and put down their names? Of these 21 playing fields, 14 were attached to schools which have closed, 4 became surplus when existing schools amalgamated and the remaining 3 sales were to fund higher quality sports provision at the schools in question (at the behest of their local governors). I wonder if those signing the petition think this this 'staggering rate' is faster or slower than under Labour. (Clue: It isn't faster).

There is obviously still legitimate questions to be asked about possible alternate use for the land - but honestly, the way this petition is written.....

Ok Guy, what are the facts, how many under Major-Cameron how many under Blair-Brown? I also note you do not mention the scapping of the schools sports funding deal set up under Labour and scrapped under the Tories.

Also this snippet from the Daily Mail of all papers:

In 13 years of the previous government, more than 200 school playing fields were approved for sale and around 10,000 were sold between 1979 to 1997, said the Guardian.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z23dlA4PWd

Beefheart, my gripe is with the way the petition is written. By your own figures Labour must have averaged 20 field sales a year, yet the Coalition seems to be averaging 10 a year. This 'staggering rate' the petition is moaning about is clearly actually the slowest rate for 30 years and half he rate of the previous Government. If those figures of 10,000 sold up to 97 are correct then it strikes me this current focus on the topic seems 20 years after the horse bolted and had been put down.

Also note that he power to veto has only rested with the Sec of State since 1998. Prior to that it was a local decision.

If people are interested in the process it's here: http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/fi ... demies.doc

Errr hang on guy do the calculations for the total Tory years from 1979...we might argue that the Lib Dems have put the break on?

Yes, it's not like it's been Tory policy for years or anything... just credit the Lib Dems with everything the government does that you approve of, if it makes you happy.

Beef, as I said above prior to 1998 the Sec of State didn't have the power to stop Governors or LEAs selling school land. It was a local decision. Credit to Labour for bringing in rules that made sure the Sec of State did. On the face of it, it does sound a scandal that 10'000 were sold over a decade in the 80s if those numbers are true. But it seems a strange scandal to have a go at Gove over now.

Well I am not really just being facetious wrt to Lib Dems.

Kind of agree...but its on the back of the pledge re. Olympic legacy I guess, a sensitive issue now.

The Government have now admitted they got the figures for sell-offs wrong:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19291911

Incidentally the figure for sell-offs during the 1980s sounds right. On the Planning Committee it was very difficult to stop development of them because the Government changed the rules to help their friends the house builders. One I particularly remember was Hall Green where we managed to save half of one area (the old Civil Service Sports Association grounds) but not another next to it.

There is something afoot here.... All the points above about this being the slower rate of sales than under Labour still stand (albeit more marginally), but this kind of story is very politically damaging for Gove:

- This is the second time that the civil service have made a major cock-up on a formal, high profile, FOI release, it really does begin to look like sabotage or incompetence. Either way if heads don't roll he only has himself to blame if it keeps happening (and of course ultimately, as Minister, he is accountable).
- It's interesting that it is the Telegraph that is leading the media push on this. The decisions regarding sales are actually made by Lord Hill on delegated authority from Gove. If the Telegraph's agenda was really about the sale of fields they'd be going after Hill - but they're not - it's clearly Gove they're gunning for, without mercy. "Torygraph"? Not so sure about that!

Perhaps Gove is seen as an enemy within? Actual right-wingers seem to like him so this is probably nothing more than sport for the Telegraph.

Gove's too close to Murdoch for their liking.

I did tell you that story, Guy, about the public school teacher I know and the visit from Michael Gove. It surprised me, but after it the Telegtraph doesn't.

Frequently it is the case that selling off 'school playing fields' is the only way to bring them into use. A good example of this is the derelict land on Bath Row near the city centre. Unused for a decade and requiring significant and expensive remedial work to bring them into use, the only practical solution is to sell the land with covenants so that the improved facilities could be used by local schools and other community groups. These options have been available on a number of occasions. Of course, the dogmatic approach is to say that school playing fields should not be 'sold off' to the detriment of all parties. Disgraceful.

Another excellent example of facilities being brought back into use by schools is at Belchers Lane. Hats off to the previous council for that one.