MICHAEL HOWARD has launched an astonishing verbal attack on the Conservative-led Kent County Council, denouncing its plans to close and merge dozens of primary schools as "nothing short of disgraceful" and "fundamentally mistaken".

His outspoken attack came as county councillors considered the latest round of closures and mergers, two of which affect schools in the former Conservative leader’s Folkestone and Hythe constituency.

And it drew an admission from a senior education official that a key part of Kent’s primary strategy was based on a government recommendation that did not actually exist.

Mr Howard made plain his unhappiness with County Hall’s ruling Conservative administration when he accused it of wrongly claiming that it was acting in accordance with recommendations from the Department for Education and Skills about what levels of spare places were acceptable at primary schools.

Invited to address a meeting of KCC’s Schools Organisation Area Board, a clearly angry Mr Howard launched a stinging assault.

He said: "I am very sorry to say that we have a Conservative-run county council which has adopted a policy which is uniquely hostile to small schools and in my opinion, nothing short of disgraceful."

The strategy, which is designed to reduce thousands of spare places across Kent’s 400-plus primary schools, was "completely misconceived" because it was based on DfES recommendations that did not exist.

Mr Howard said: "I have been in touch with the DfES. It has made no such recommendation. I asked Dr Ian Craig [KCC’s education director of operations] for the source and authority of that statement [in the strategy]. He was not able to provide it."

The MP went on to say that DfES officials had told his office that "Kent has just made this up" and that based on official figures, Kent was proposing closing and merging "almost twice as many schools as the whole of the rest of the country put together".

Responding to the comments, Dr Ian Craig conceded the DfES had not committed anything in writing about appropriate levels of spare places. As a result, while it was "a valid comment for DfES officials to say Kent had made up the figure", KCC had taken advice from the DfES about what other counties were doing.

Dr Craig said: "A figure of a five per cent surplus is consistent with what other shire counties and other education authorities are doing. We also looked at Audit Commission guidance which is very clear that while surplus places are needed, they should be kept to fairly minimal levels."

The committee considered plans affecting four schools.

It recommended going ahead with public consultation on the closure of Selsted Primary School in Folkestone but voted against the merger of Morehall Primary School and Harcourt School, also in Folkestone. Councillors also recommended that Trottiscliffe School in West Malling stay open.