School Estate

Thursday 11th February 2016 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Mr Sam Gyimah)]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash) has made the following written statement.

Today, I am announcing £1.4 billion of funding allocations to maintain and improve the condition of the education estate. Investing in our school buildings is a key part of the Government’s long-term economic plan to secure Britain’s future. It will help to ensure children across the country can learn in schools that are safe and in good condition.

For the financial year 2016-17, the Department for Education is allocating £200 million of devolved formula capital to schools and £1.2 billion to local authorities, voluntary aided partnerships, multi-academy trusts and academy sponsors, to invest in their own condition priorities. This includes funding for the repair and refurbishment of academies and sixth-form colleges through the condition improvement fund, the outcome of which we will announce later this year.

Good investment decisions require some certainty and stability of funding, which is why in February 2015 we announced three-year indicative allocations covering 2015-16 to 2017-18. The allocations we are announcing today, for 2016-17, update those allocations to reflect how the school system has changed, with schools opening and closing and more schools becoming academies. We have implemented these changes with minimal variation to the approach we set out last year. These updated allocations are also indicative of funding for 2017-18.

Details of today’s announcement will be published on the gov.uk website. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House.

[HCWS529]