Academies 'making shortage of school places worse' Capital City Academy school in north-west London. Rapid expansion of the government's academy and free school programme has exacerbated a chronic shortage of places for children, the House of Commons' spending watchdog has warned. Local authorities' inability to force publicly funded but independent schools to expand has meant that struggling direct-maintained schools could be forced to squeeze in more pupils, the public accounts committee has concluded. MPs are concerned that the lack of space in many of these schools may lead to school buildings such as libraries or music rooms being turned into classrooms to meet the demand, it says. The report follows a study released three months ago by the National Audit Office (NAO), which warned that by September 2014, an estimated extra 256,000 primary and secondary school places will be needed to meet demand. Of these, 240,000 are required in primary schools, with more than a third needed in London alone. Hours before the report was released, the Treasury chief secretary, Danny Alexander, announced plans to spend £7.5bn to create 500,000 new school places by 2021 in existing as well as new free schools and academies. Margaret Hodge, the chair of the committee, said that the government has been forced to admit that it does not know if the money it is contributing towards new school places will be enough. The inability of local authorities to require academies and free schools to expand further constrains them. The department [for education] does not understand the costs for local authorities in delivering places or the relative value for money of different approaches around the country. "Without enough resources to provide new places, some authorities are forced to sacrifice facilities like music rooms or expand classes beyond the statutory 30 children per class," she said. The report says: "In the rush to deliver sufficient places, authorities may have to make decisions that affect the quality of education on offer." Some authorities may have no choice but to expand poorly performing schools, if places are required, the committee predicts. "For example, in areas where there is pressure on school places and a shortage of suitable land, authorities may have to convert communal spaces and specialist areas (such as libraries or music rooms) into classrooms," the report claims. It also criticises the government for failing to fully understand "the risks to children's learning and development that may arise as authorities strain the sinews of the school estate to deliver enough places." Statistics published last week revealed that the number of children being taught in infant classes of more than 30 pupils has more than doubled in the last five years. The government has been quick to try to assure the public this week that it will invest in Britain's schools as the general election approaches. On Wednesday, George Osborne said school spending would be "protected in real terms" and that there was funding to create 180 more free schools in 2015-16, on top of the 80 already open and 200 in the pipeline. There will also be 20 more studio schools, which young people can attend part-time while working, and 20 more university technical colleges, aimed at providing high-level vocational education. David Laws, the schools minister, responded to the report by saying that the previous government, and in particular the former schools minister Ed Balls, should shoulder the blame for chronic shortages in classroom places. Margaret Hodge is right that there is a severe need to ensure there are enough school places, but she has failed to pin the blame where it belongs - at the door of the last government of which she was a member. This government has more than doubled spending on new school places compared to the previous government.