The decision to scrap 13 school rebuilding projects in Birmingham has comeunder fire again after the Government published a report admitting the least wealthy communities would be affected most.

Khalid Mahmood (Lab Perry Barr) spoke out after a Government study showed deprived areas, ethnic minorities and children who speak English as a second language would be hit hardest.

It followed Education Secretary Michael Gove’s decision to scrap the Building Schools for the Future programme, which aimed to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in the country.

As well as the Birmingham schools, he also axed nine planned building schemes in Sandwell.

But the Department for Education has now published its own assessment of the decision - which seemed to confirm claims by Labour MPs that the children who will lose out from not having new school buildings will be those who are most in need.

The study said: “The stoppage of these school projects has inadvertently impacted slightly more on children who can be seen to be disadvantaged in terms of social deprivation, and as having English as an additional language compared to national averages; and also as having slightly higher rates of minority ethnic pupils and on learners with special educational needs compared to national averages.”

Ministers have stressed that schools could still be rebuilt, but not using the Building Schools for the Future programme, which they argue was a slow and expensive way of rebuilding schools.

Mr Mahmood said: “This assessment confirms what we already knew in Birmingham, which was that the areas hit hardest will be the poorest and often those with a large black and ethnic minority community.

“This is the pattern in my constituency and north west Birmingham as a whole.”

He said there was a shortage of school places in parts of the city and he knew of youngsters in Handsworth, in his constituency, who were forced to take the bus to Edgbaston to go to school.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “We understand people’s disappointment but the BSF programme was wasteful, needlessly bureaucratic and seriously behind schedule.

“It would have been inexcusable to have continued with the programme.

“Ministers have been clear that their overriding priority is closing the gap in attainment for pupils from disadvantaged communities by focusing capital investment in areas of the greatest need and introducing a new pupil premium to provide additional support in the classroom.”