BRITAIN: Renewed controversy in Britain over "cash for honours" could put off potential sponsors of academies who fear they will be seen as grasping for knighthoods and peerages, the government acknowledged yesterday.
Headteacher unions warned that the arrest on Thursday of Des Smith, a former council member of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust who promised that honours could be lined up for supporters of the programme, cast doubt over the long-term viability of the academies.
Ministers are just as concerned that the surprise arrest draws fresh media attention to the government's fundraising activities. Lord Levy, the Labour party fundraiser at the centre of the original "loans for lordships" inquiry, is president of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and there were murmurings in London yesterday that this situation was no longer tenable.
Others were critical of what they regard as the heavy-handed arrest of Mr Smith, a headteacher who resigned from his relatively minor role on the trust immediately after being exposed by an undercover Sunday Times reporter.
Trust chairman Sir Cyril Taylor said he believed Mr Smith and Lord Levy had not met, though he could not be sure.
The government is committed to creating 200 academies, backed by £2 million from private sponsors. Education minister Bill Rammell said yesterday the academy programme was "on track", with 27 open and 100 in the pipeline.
However Mr Rammell admitted concerns which reflect Downing Street's view. "It would be a pity if this coverage discouraged people from supporting academies.
"If business people believe and others believe in education and are sufficiently committed to give their time, money, commitment and resources to driving up standards in state schools, then that is a cause of celebration; it's certainly not a cause for denigration," he said.
"There should be no reason why, if you commit yourselves in this way, you should be disbarred from receiving an honour, but it's certainly no guarantee of that."
No 10 believes that most sponsors - with the exception of Sir Peter Vardy, the car magnate who advocates the teaching of creationism and has sponsored two academies - have been uncontroversial.
However the trust is moving away from a reliance on high-profile millionaire sponsors, instead encouraging established education providers to join the scheme.
Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "We are extremely concerned for our members who are working in these schools, because it must put the whole programme in question...
"It certainly does raise question marks about the future viability."