To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reasons Leicestershire county council's bid for funding from Building Schools for the Future was not recommended by Partnerships for Schools in the most recent funding round; and on what date his Department wrote to Leicestershire county council to inform them of these reasons. (325813)

Partnerships for Schools (PfS), as the delivery agent for Building Schools for the Future (BSF), is responsible for discussions with local authorities about applications to join the BSF programme. PfS wrote to Leicestershire county council on 8 March 2010 to provide feedback on why the council would not yet be invited to join.

Local authorities are prioritised on the need for BSF investment but must also demonstrate that they are ready and able, and have all the elements in place to deliver their BSF project. As well as assessing submissions to enter on a case-by-case basis, bids are also compared against each other so that the most ready are selected.

The assessment of Leicestershire's county council, “Readiness to Deliver” submission concluded that further work is needed in some key areas before the authority can be deemed ready to enter BSF.