'Children will suffer if school building programme is cut,' says CABE

The head of the Government's advisory body on architecture will warn today that cutting school building programmes would jeopardise the life chances of millions of young people.

Paul Finch, the newly appointed chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) – which advises ministers on architecture – will say it is essential the benefits of the building programme "are not squandered". Without it, he argues, pupils will be robbed of their motivation to stay at school and exam results may suffer.

Financial analysts have warned that the next government will have to trim the £55bn Building Schools for the Future programme as a result of economic pressures. Labour has warned that the scheme could face substantial cuts under the Conservatives' plans to introduce a new network of independent, Swedish-style "free" schools funded by the state.

Speaking to The Independent ahead of his speech, Mr Finch said: "A third of local authorities have yet to see any benefit from Building Schools for the Future. We think it would be a very bad idea if children who happen to live in these authorities operate in second-class schools compared with people in neighbouring districts who have been part of the programme. It would be another postcode lottery."

He said: "At worst, some of the children in these schools are taught in dank and depressing buildings – which are bad for the morale of pupils and bad for the morale of teachers." He added that the CABE was planning research to determine the impact a school's environment had on pupils' learning. "We think the suggestion there is no evidence that a good building has an effect on school performance is wrong. In health, it has been shown that the quality of the environment has an effect on recovery times."

Mr Finch, who is also the programme director of the World Architectural Festival, added: " If the physical premises, for example, are well designed, it will encourage good teachers to apply for jobs in these places. If they are poor, it will encourage them to look elsewhere."

He said the programme had reached two thirds of local authorities in England and had been a "success story" in improving standards in school design.

Mr Finch, who will deliver his address at a conference in London organised by the Building Schools Exhibition and Conference, added: "CABE absolutely understands the need for economy and value in the construction of new buildings, but this is the wrong place to start to make cuts which would have the effect of targeting some of the most vulnerable people in society: children."

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "Decisions on future spending have yet to be made. However, ministers have made it repeatedly clear they are determined to complete the full programme."

Michael Gove, the Conservative's shadow schools secretary, said: "Getting the right environment for teaching is crucial. We support investment in school buildings but the Government's handling has been marked by waste, bureaucracy and inefficiency."