Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the summary report of the Property Data Survey Programme, published in January 2015, what estimate she has made of the total cost of repairs necessary to bring the school estate in England up to good condition.
Answered by David Laws
The Property Data Survey was designed to give a relative view of condition need. As stated in the report, the Property Data Survey condition need we have calculated is not the cost of addressing the need in the estate but a relative weighting of the complexity of addressing different types of condition need. Calculating the total cost of addressing the need in the estate would involve taking into account other factors, such as asbestos and structural need, which are excluded from the survey. As such we do not hold an estimate of the total cost of repairs necessary to bring the school estate in England up to good condition.
Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the summary report of the Property Data Survey Programme, published in January 2015, whether the cost of maintaining, repairing or replacing a school building referred to in that report includes extra costs incurred because of the presence of asbestos.
Answered by David Laws
The information collected by the Property Data Survey Programme focused on the condition of the buildings. The surveyors who visited schools as part of the programme did not record any information on the presence of asbestos. The condition need identified through the surveys does not reflect any asbestos that may be present.
Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many blocks recorded as part of the Property Data Survey Programme were in (a) good, (b) satisfactory, (c) poor and (d) bad condition.
Answered by David Laws
The Property Data Survey does not provide an overall assessment of a block in the manner requested. The surveyors who visited schools made an assessment of the condition of individual construction types within each block, such as different types of roofs or walls for which we hold individual records, but did not attempt to rate blocks on a ‘good’ to ‘bad’ scale.
Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the summary report of the Property Data Survey Programme, published in January 2015, how many schools were rated as being (a) good, (b) satisfactory, (c) poor and (d) bad condition.
Answered by David Laws
The Property Data Survey does not provide an overall assessment of schools in the manner requested. The surveyors who visited schools made an assessment of the condition of individual construction types within each block, such as different types of roofs or walls for which we hold individual records, but did not attempt to rate an entire school on a ‘good’ to ‘bad’ scale.
Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date she plans to publish the results of the Property Data Survey Programme for schools.
Answered by David Laws
A national summary of the condition of the school estate using data from the Property Data Survey Programme has been published on the Government’s website and can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/property-data-survey-programme
The individual survey reports for schools have been shared directly with schools, local authorities and other relevant bodies responsible for the maintenance of school buildings.
Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools (a) submitted requests for and (b) have been granted funding because of significant asbestos problems under the second phase of the Priority Schools Building Programme.
Answered by David Laws
The aim of the second phase of the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP2) is to undertake rebuilding and refurbishment projects in schools with buildings in the very worst condition. PSBP2 is not an asbestos removal programme as, in most cases, the presence of asbestos can be safely managed with minimal investment. However, the Department for Education announced when the programme was launched that it would consider some situations where the presence of asbestos means the annual costs of safely managing it are excessive.
A total of 1299 schools submitted an expression of interest (EOI) for the second phase of the Priority School Building Programme. 307 schools indicated in their EOI that they had significant asbestos issues and provided relevant supporting documentation. These cases were assessed by independent technical advisers. This assessment considered whether the issues meant areas were already or likely to become inaccessible, whether the issues were classified as high risk or whether the presence of asbestos impacts on the operation or the maintenance of the school.
Eight schools met these criteria and in these cases the cost of removing or encapsulating asbestos was included in the calculation of the school’s condition need. Of these, six had sufficiently poor overall condition need to be included in the programme. Further information on the methodology used to prioritise schools for inclusion in PSBP2 is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/401689/PSBP2_Methodology.pdf
In all blocks where the condition need will be addressed, all asbestos will be dealt with appropriately, whether raised as a specific concern or not.
PSBP2 is intended to sit alongside - and not to replace or substitute - the responsibility that local authorities, governing bodies, trustees, dioceses and other bodies have for the maintenance of school buildings in their care. Given that PSBP2 is a six year programme (running between 2015 and 2021), it is essential that schools continue to address any concerns with regards to asbestos in an appropriate timescale and do not rely on PSBP2 to address immediate needs. All applicants have been made aware of this requirement.
Alongside announcing the schools to be included in PSBP2, the Government also announced school condition allocations for the next three years. We have reformed these allocations so that they reflect the condition of school buildings; this means that those schools in poor condition who missed out on PSBP2 can be confident that their needs will instead be reflected in the funding we make available to their local authority, trust or voluntary aided partnership for improving the condition of their schools.
Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date she plans to publish the report of her Department's review of asbestos policy for schools.
Answered by David Laws
No date has yet been set for the publication of the review report but we intend to publish it very shortly.
Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the report on her Department's review of asbestos policy in schools.
Answered by David Laws
The Department is working with stakeholders, experts and the Health and Safety Executive to consider the latest evidence, and determine appropriate policy responses. We will provide an update on the management of asbestos in schools in the new year.
Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to enable the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The UK Government believes that strong and effective laws already exist in the UK under which individuals, including children, may seek enforceable remedies in the courts or tribunals if they feel that their rights have been breached. We do not therefore currently believe that ratification of the Optional Protocol is necessary. Nonetheless, the Government will continue to keep this under review.
Asked by: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the reliability of the information provided to her Department by local authorities on implementation of special educational needs reform for children with hearing impairment.
Answered by Edward Timpson
This information is not provided to the Department for Education by local authorities.
Local authorities and their partners across education, health and social care are implementing the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms which came into force on 1 September this year. The Department is working closely with local authorities and local Parent carer forums to understand how local implementation of the Children and Families Act 2014 is progressing. Summary findings of the autumn implementation survey will be published before the end of the year. We will also publish local authority data on an annual basis, starting summer 2015.