Taskforce plans to ask government for half of original BSF funding and raise the rest through other means

Liverpool council has launched a rescue plan for the city’s schools rebuilding programme, after the coalition government axed its £350m Building Schools for the Future initiative.

A taskforce, lead by Max Steinberg, the chief executive of Liverpool Vision, will lobby the government to provide half the original allocation of money and come up with a plan to raise the rest of the funding. Ideas include selling off land and assets to raise funds and identifying vacant sites around the city would could be suitable for schools.

The announcement will come as good news for Balfour Beatty and Morgan Sindall, who were hoping to win work on the Liverpool BSF programme.