Gove's ex-adviser given £500,000 free schools grant

Michael Gove's education department failed to invite applications for a £500,000 grant to assist parents setting up free schools before awarding it to his former adviser's New Schools Network, reports the Guardian. The information came from an FoI request (the response to which was 70 days late) by the Other Taxpayers Alliance. "For an excellent alternative to the New Schools Network, check out the Local Schools Network, launched last month. What a strange political terrain we now inhabit: a state-funded network promoting independent schools, and an independent network promoting state schools."