​Labour’s flagship £230 million scheme to rebuild or refurbish 16 schools in the Westcountry is to be frozen by the coalition Government, as ministers review all major education spending pledges.

The Liberal-Conservative Government insists no final decisions have been made, but it is understood major savings are being sought from expensive pre-election promises made in the dying days of the Labour government.

Some of the money from the Building Schools for the Future programme is expected to be diverted into the Swedish- style free schools favoured by new education secretary Michael Gove.

But unions warned schools and parents would be “horrified” to see money for existing schools “sacrificed to fund the ideologically-driven policy of ‘free’ schools, which has no proven educational merit”.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: “The public can be forgiven if they find themselves totally bemused by the fact that at a time of economic recession, the Government’s priority is to divert money from existing schools to fund a more expensive raft of new ones.

“To remove local authorities from the process seems to reveal a gaping hole in the Government’s much-vaunted commitment to localism.”

In a statement, the Department for Education insisted ministers have “not yet made a decision on Building Schools for the Future funding or any other capital programmes”.

But a spokesman admitted that “all areas of spending including schools capital” would be reviewed as part of a full comprehensive spending review in the autumn.

In opposition, the Conservatives repeatedly refused to say if they would match the BSF funding.

In March – just weeks before the start of the election campaign – it was announced six schools across Cornwall would share an estimated £69m grant.

Camborne Science and Community College, Pool Business and Enterprise College, Redruth School, Poltair School, Humphry Davy School and Curnow Special School were the first schools earmarked to benefit from the funding.

Senior councillors and officers at Cornwall Council have called on the Department for Education, and Partnership for Schools which administers the scheme, “to clarify the position for funding” which was allocated in March.

A Cornwall Council spokesman said: “The Building Schools for the Future programme presents an exciting once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform secondary education in Cornwall and the council remains committed to working with all parties to secure the best possible outcome for Cornwall’s schools.”

In November it was announced that £160m had been awarded to rebuild or refurbish 10 schools in the region. Devon County Council secured £80m for four new secondary schools for Chulmleigh, Dartmouth, Ilfracombe and Tiverton. Marland special school in Torrington also received a share of the funds.

Plymouth council was to receive a similar sum, to pay for major refurbishments at Tamarside, John Kitto and Lipson Community College. Wood View Learning Community School would receive help for a new suite of computers and IT, while a new secondary school for Devonport would replace Stoke Damerel Community College.

Work on planning the new schools was expected to begin almost immediately, with builders moving in within three years.

At the time, then-Schools Secretary Ed Balls warned that the schools would only be built if Labour won the election.

“Parents do not want to go back to the bad old days when school buildings were left to rot under the last Tory government – a legacy which our sustained investment in school buildings is finally consigning to the history books,” he said.

Last night, Devon County Council insisted work to develop the BSF project is “continuing as programmed”.

A spokesman added: “Devon, in common with other local authorities, is awaiting further information from the new coalition government regarding its spending plans.”