LAW firm Dickinson Dees has been appointed to advise on a major schools construction programme in the North and Midlands.
The Newcastle-based firm will act as advisor to the Education Funding Agency (EFA), which is the executive agency of the Department for Education and the successor body to Partnerships for Schools.
Dickinson Dees will provide full legal services for the construction of schools to be built in the next two years between the Midlands to the Scottish border as part of the Government’s Priority School Building Programme.
Under the project, 261 English primary, secondary and special schools will be rebuilt or renewed during the next five years using a mixture of private finance and capital projects. Dickson Dees will advise on the capital projects part of the scheme.
Kevin Robertson, a partner in the public services team at Dickinson Dees, said: “Specialist legal advice is required in relation to a number of areas, including construction (both contentious and non-contentious), planning, procurement, education law, charity law and tax.
“This is a very significant appointment for us and we are delighted to have been appointed as the sole adviser to the EFA for the new-built programme for schools in the North and Midlands.
“It is a ringing endorsement of the skills we possess in this highly competitive sector and we look forward to working with the EFA to provide them with first-class legal advice.
“This appointment builds on our successful relationship with the EFA on the Free Schools programme.”
Dickinson Dees has more than 70 lawyers working in offices in the North East, Leeds and London.
