BSF sample design work faces review

The amount of sample design work required in bidding for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) contracts is to be reviewed, said Partnerships for Schools chief executive Tim Byles.

The move is in response to bidders' concerns at the number of designs BSF clients ask for. Barnsley Council in South Yorkshire, for example, is asking for five fully worked up designs from each of the three shortlisted bidders, for a BSF Wave Three scheme involving nine schools.

Byles said: "I am conscious of the burden of design and I will think over how to make this as streamlined as possible.

"I want to engage both the public and private sector on this subject in the near future.

"We need to be asking questions such as 'can design be introduced earlier into the process?'"

However, Byles said there was no "one size fits all" solution.