Businesses have made a last-ditch attempt to prevent the Education Secretary scrapping a rule requiring new schools to meet the globally recognised BRE Environmental Assesment Method (BREEAM) green building standard, after a spending review report argued the scheme was too bureaucratic.

The Aldersgate Group and UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) this week penned a joint letter to Education Secretary Michael Gove, warning they were 'deeply concerned' by a document that said schools should no longer be required to adhere to BREEAM standards.

The recommendation formed part of a review into capital spending by the Department for Education (DfE) by Sebastian James, which minister are expected to decide the results of shortly.

Under the previous government's Building Schools for the Future programme, new schools must meet or exceed the BREEAM 'very good' standard, covering areas such as energy management and use, health and well-being, pollution, transport, land use, materials, and water.

But James' review said DfE should drop this rule because BREEAM had become too bureaucratic for schools and local authorities.

Instead of helping schools to become more energy efficient, James warned the standard may actually be hindering local authorities from choosing the right tools to build sustainable schools.

'BREEAM has been criticised for being very prescriptive, providing incredibly detailed guidance on matters such as cycling facilities (eight pages long) or of the ecology allowed on site (25 pages long),' said James.

A DfE spokesman told BusinessGreen that it had not consulted on the recommendation to scrap the BREEAM requirement as it had already been 'broadly accepted'.

'We consulted on the overall recommendations from the Capital Review in July [but] some of the specific recommendations, such as the one for BREEAM, were not specifically covered by the consultation as we broadly accepted them and indicated that we would work with stakeholders over the coming months with a view to practical implementation,' he said.

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