Private consultancies and the Department for Education’s Innovation Unit split more than £12 million to deliver the government’s innovation fund, it has been revealed.
Answering a written question from the shadow children’s minister, minister Nadhim Zahawi said the Spring Consortium – which consisted of Deloitte, Mutual Ventures and the Innovation Unit – was paid £12,398,098.52 to deliver the innovation programme over a four-year period.
The group worked with the Department for Education to design and deliver the £200 million programme from June 2014 to March 2018. The work included coaching support to all projects, delivering the National Learning Conference, organising events and webinars and producing resources to support other local authorities to innovate.
The biggest amount of funding awarded by the programme during this period was £11.6 million to implement the family safeguarding model, developed by Hertfordshire council, across four other children’s services departments.
Hertfordshire was initially awarded £4.8 million to develop the service, taking the total spend on the model to £16.4 million.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the fund was set up to address challenges facing children.
“Many of these projects are doing effective and innovative work with vulnerable families up and down the country,” the spokesperson said.
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So if I understand correctly the DfE paid for its own costs setting up the Innovation Unit from the fund. One wonders what it sees as its core purpose ( other than promoting grammer, free and academy schools and divesting itself of responsibilities via the private sector in all its many guises) and what will happen within the DfE in regard to children’s services when the Innovation funding stops?
Paracites