AN OUTGOING education chief has questioned the continued used of private finance for building schools.

Pat Case, who was sacked as Lancashire County Council’s education cabinet member last month, said ‘there was a problem accumulating large amounts of unpaid debts’.

The county’s £250million Building Schools for the Future programme in Burnley and Pendle has seen a range of new high schools being built.

But it was funded by the Private Finance Initiative which saw private companies provide the £250million, and the county council repaying the balance plus £200million in interest over several decades.

In addition, schools are locked into costly supply contracts governing where they can buy items such as chairs and desks from.

Yesterday, a £100m second wave of Building Schools for the Future was announced, to rebuild a further 10 schools in Hyndburn, Pendle and Rossendale.

But County Coun Pat Case, who was sacked by Conservative group leader Geoff Driver after refusing to resign, said alternative funding sources should be examined in future.

Coun Case, who represents Chorley Rural East on the county council, said: “It may be that when we are doing other developments that we look at other ways of funding because there are problems with PFI.

“There is a problem with accumulating large amounts of unpaid debts.

“Personally, I think that PFI has provided this area with some magnificent schools but there are doubts about whether it is necessarily the way forward for everything we do in future. "I would have some reservations because of the funding conditions for the existing system.”

Coun Mike Calver, cabinet member for adult and community services, added: “The short answer to this is that PFI should only be used when it is absolutely necessary.

“It is just storing up problems for the future and as a Conservative group we will be doing our best not to use it.”

Mike Hart, director for capital investment and resources (children and young people) said there were political discussions at national level ongoing about PFI.

He said: “"Although PFI has been the mainstay of funding the next wave will be predominantly funded through conventional capital funding streams as much of the work will be rebuilding rather than new-build.”