Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) pupils and (b) schools that have been unable to take part in national tests due to disruption caused by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in the last 12 months.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Thanks to the hard work of school and college leaders, all schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC are providing full time face-to-face education for all pupils. The department is supporting schools and colleges to keep any disruption to education to an absolute minimum.

Every case is unique and the impact on schools and colleges can be highly varied. Departmental officials work with schools and colleges to put in place a bespoke plan based on their circumstances. In some cases, there is no impact on teaching space, or it is limited to small areas. For others, mitigation plans can include using other spaces on the school site or locally until building works are carried out or temporary buildings are installed. Where some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to teaching. From the department’s experience to date, where remote teaching was used for a period, the typical time out of school was a matter of days.

As of 20 February 2024, 2 primary schools in England were exempted from participation in one or more statutory primary assessments in the last 12 months due to areas with confirmed RAAC being taken out of use. Across the 2 schools, this impacted 355 pupils across the relevant year groups.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many contracts have been awarded via the school rebuilding programme; and if she will make a comparative estimate of this figure with her Department's planned projections.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The School Rebuilding Programme was announced in 2020 and will transform buildings at 500 schools and sixth-form colleges over the next decade. It will rebuild or refurbish poor condition buildings, providing modern designs, with new buildings being net zero carbon in operation.

The department has selected 513 schools for the programme to date, and is on track to commence delivery of these schools at a rate of 50 per year. Several rebuilding projects have already completed under the programme, with many more at various stages of delivery. The department remains committed to rebuilding or refurbishing schools already selected for the School Rebuilding Programme.

The department has awarded 50 contracts. This is in line with the forecast. Details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of school building conditions on trends in the level of teacher (a) recruitment and (b) retention.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

There are now record numbers of full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England, totalling over 468,000, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010.

The department appreciates that there is more to do, particularly in disadvantaged areas. The department is offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the department will be doubling the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax.

This is on top of the 6.5% pay award that teachers and leaders in maintained schools received for 2023/24, which was the highest pay award for teachers in over thirty years, delivered on our manifesto commitment of a minimum £30,000 starting salary for school teachers in all regions of the country. This, combined with the increase in the LUP, means a new maths teacher in Blackpool could be receiving the equivalent of £38,570 starting salary next year, before accounting for the 2024/25 pay award.

To further support recruitment to high-priority subjects, the department also provides financial incentives worth up to £196 million, including bursaries worth £28,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to teach mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.

To help retention, the department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices. The department has convened a workload reduction taskforce to explore how it can further support trust and school leaders to minimise workload for teachers.

Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department. Responsibility for keeping buildings safe and well-maintained lies with schools and their responsible bodies, such as local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary-aided bodies. The department supports them by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.

The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 to keep schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in 2023/24. This is informed by consistent data on the condition of the school estate. The department’s School Rebuilding Programme will transform buildings in poor condition at over 500 schools. New buildings are already being delivered across the country with modern designs that are designed to be net zero carbon in operation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring schools to report to her Department when they have to close temporarily due to building issues.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​Academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies are responsible for collecting and recording information about their buildings and ensuring they are safe, well-maintained and comply with relevant regulations. The department supports schools and colleges on how this should be done in the Good Estate Management for Schools guidance which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.

​When the department is made aware of a significant issue with a building that cannot be managed locally, additional support is provided on a case-by-case basis.​

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether all contracts for phase 2 of the Priority School Building Programme have now been awarded.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Contracts have been awarded for 271 out of 272 schools in phase two of the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP2).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2023 to Question 22 on Schools: Asbestos, what information her Department holds on levels of asbestos in schools in the North East region.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their buildings.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates schools’ compliance with legislation to manage their asbestos safely. The department follows the HSE’s advice that, provided asbestos containing materials are in good condition, and unlikely to be disturbed, it is generally safest to manage them in place. Where asbestos containing materials are likely to be disturbed by maintenance works or daily use of the building, and cannot be easily protected, schools should have them removed.

The Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP) was a survey launched by the department in March 2018 to understand the steps schools and those responsible for their estate were taking to manage asbestos. The data collected from this survey was published in 2019, and is accessible at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f28153ed3bf7f1b17facda7/AMAP_Report_2019.pdf.

Information on how schools are managing asbestos is now being collected via the department’s Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme, which will complete in 2026, and is expected to cover all state-funded schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to make an assessment of the appropriateness of allocating maintenance funding directly to smaller responsible bodies.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. This is informed by consistent data on the condition of the school estate. The department also provide extensive guidance on effective management of school buildings, including through Good Estates Management for Schools.

Local authorities, larger multi-academy trusts (MATs) and larger voluntary-aided (VA) school bodies receive an annual school condition allocation (SCA) to invest in priorities across the schools for which they are responsible. Smaller academy trusts and single academy trusts, smaller VA bodies and sixth-form colleges are instead able to bid into the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).

To be eligible to receive direct SCA for the 2023/24 financial year, MATs and VA bodies must have met two principal criteria. The MAT or VA body must have had 5 or more open schools at the start of September 2022, and those open schools (or their predecessor schools) must have had at least 3,000 pupils counted in the spring 2022 census, or the 2021 to 2022 individualised learner record.

School level allocations for both SCA and CIF eligible schools are calculated using the same formula, to ensure parity. Whilst the allocations for schools in SCA eligible responsible bodies are totalled to form a direct allocation for the responsible body, the allocations for CIF eligible schools and sixth form colleges are combined to form the CIF fund, into which they can bid. This is to ensure that schools and sixth form colleges in smaller responsible bodies, which are CIF eligible, have the opportunity to access sufficient funding to complete projects to improve condition.

Were CIF eligible responsible bodies given direct allocations, they would, in most cases, attract substantially less funding than SCA eligible responsible bodies, as the allocation formula is based on pupil numbers. As a result, direct allocations might not be sufficient for these responsible bodies to complete the projects they require, which is why they are instead given access to CIF.

The department keeps the methodology for allocating condition funding under review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Department has made of the effectiveness of the Capital Advisers’ Programme.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department is committed to supporting trusts to increase their estate management capability and practice. The Capital Advisers Programme is designed to help academy trusts increase their estate management capability and improve practice, by offering bespoke best practice recommendations from capital advisers, in line with the Good Estate Management for Schools guidance. The programme has completed delivery of 3 phases: pilot (2021/2022), pilot revisits (2022) and part 1 (2022/2023). Part 2 is currently in delivery.

The department assesses the benefit of the programme after each phase and publishes these evaluations. The evaluation reports are available to view in the links below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1086666/CAP_Pilot_Evaluation_Report_30June22.pdf, and https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65536ce7019bd600149f1ff9/Capital_Advisers_Programme_revisits_and_part_1_evaluation.pdf.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support smaller responsible bodies to apply for the Condition Improvement Fund where they have schools in need of repair works.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. This is informed by consistent data on the condition of the school estate. The department also provide extensive guidance on effective management of school buildings, including through Good Estates Management for Schools.

The department publishes detailed guidelines in the Information for Applicants document on GOV.UK each round to support school leaders, staff, and governing bodies at those academies, sixth form colleges and voluntary aided schools eligible to apply for the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).

This includes tips on how to prepare a good CIF application and advice about the types of evidence applicants should provide to support a bid for different types of building projects, along with an application checklist. This includes information about the services that responsible bodies can seek from technical advisory companies. For CIF 2024/25, the department also produced a recorded overview made available to all applicants before they completed their bids.

Prior to the 2024/25 round opening to applicants, the CIF team invited sessions with eligible responsible bodies who had either made no recent applications or had been repeatedly unsuccessful with bids. We plan to offer further meetings to additional CIF eligible trusts and providers following the outcome of the 2024/25 round this spring.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of (a) repairing, (b) refurbishing and (c) rebuilding school buildings in the West Midlands.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​​​Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. The department’s evidence-led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, has enabled the department to use consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform capital allocations and funding policy. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body.

Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1) programme between 2017 and 2019. Surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple components of the schools' buildings and land within twelve primary building elements using an A-D rating. Key findings, including regional breakdowns, from the CDC1 can be found in the report, ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC1 was carried out, and Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is now in progress to provide updated information and will be completed by 2026. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

The list of schools that have been awarded a place on the School Rebuilding Programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Funding for capital programmes up to the 2024/25 financial year comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of (a) repairing, (b) refurbishing and (c) rebuilding school buildings in the South East.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​​​Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. The department’s evidence-led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, has enabled the department to use consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform capital allocations and funding policy. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body.

Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1) programme between 2017 and 2019. Surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple components of the schools' buildings and land within twelve primary building elements using an A-D rating. Key findings, including regional breakdowns, from the CDC1 can be found in the report, ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC1 was carried out, and Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is now in progress to provide updated information and will be completed by 2026. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

The list of schools that have been awarded a place on the School Rebuilding Programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Funding for capital programmes up to the 2024/25 financial year comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of (a) repairing, (b) refurbishing and (c) rebuilding school buildings in the North West.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​​​Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. The department’s evidence-led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, has enabled the department to use consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform capital allocations and funding policy. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body.

Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1) programme between 2017 and 2019. Surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple components of the schools' buildings and land within twelve primary building elements using an A-D rating. Key findings, including regional breakdowns, from the CDC1 can be found in the report, ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC1 was carried out, and Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is now in progress to provide updated information and will be completed by 2026. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

The list of schools that have been awarded a place on the School Rebuilding Programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Funding for capital programmes up to the 2024/25 financial year comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of (a) repairing, (b) refurbishing and (c) rebuilding school buildings in the South West.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​​​Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. The department’s evidence-led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, has enabled the department to use consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform capital allocations and funding policy. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body.

Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1) programme between 2017 and 2019. Surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple components of the schools' buildings and land within twelve primary building elements using an A-D rating. Key findings, including regional breakdowns, from the CDC1 can be found in the report, ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC1 was carried out, and Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is now in progress to provide updated information and will be completed by 2026. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

The list of schools that have been awarded a place on the School Rebuilding Programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Funding for capital programmes up to the 2024/25 financial year comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of (a) repairing, (b) refurbishing and (c) rebuilding school buildings in the North East.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​​​Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. The department’s evidence-led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, has enabled the department to use consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform capital allocations and funding policy. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body.

Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1) programme between 2017 and 2019. Surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple components of the schools' buildings and land within twelve primary building elements using an A-D rating. Key findings, including regional breakdowns, from the CDC1 can be found in the report, ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC1 was carried out, and Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is now in progress to provide updated information and will be completed by 2026. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

The list of schools that have been awarded a place on the School Rebuilding Programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Funding for capital programmes up to the 2024/25 financial year comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment she has made of the effectiveness of information collected from schools which have undergone both condition data collection (a) one and (b) two exercise surveys.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. Previous administrations took no action to understand the condition of the school estate. Running from 2017 to 2019, the survey allowed the department to understand the condition of the school estate over a sustained period, and informed capital funding and programmes by providing information on the condition of all 22,000 government funded school buildings and 260 further education colleges in England.

CDC2 started in 2021 and will complete in 2026. Any comparative assessment between both programmes will be undertaken upon the completion of CDC2 in 2026. The department has taken steps to ensure that the condition data collected is consistent and accurate across the school and further education college estate. Early indications from the CDC2 programme suggest that, in almost every case where a category D was identified in CDC1, it has since been addressed.

CDC visits are carried out by professionally trained building surveyors and mechanical engineers, who follow a specific methodology. Data goes through a robust quality assurance process, and schools are given the opportunity to feedback and comment on their report.

The department is not aware of any systemic misidentification of construction types in CDC1.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of schools in which construction types were misidentified during condition data collection 1 surveys.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. Previous administrations took no action to understand the condition of the school estate. Running from 2017 to 2019, the survey allowed the department to understand the condition of the school estate over a sustained period, and informed capital funding and programmes by providing information on the condition of all 22,000 government funded school buildings and 260 further education colleges in England.

CDC2 started in 2021 and will complete in 2026. Any comparative assessment between both programmes will be undertaken upon the completion of CDC2 in 2026. The department has taken steps to ensure that the condition data collected is consistent and accurate across the school and further education college estate. Early indications from the CDC2 programme suggest that, in almost every case where a category D was identified in CDC1, it has since been addressed.

CDC visits are carried out by professionally trained building surveyors and mechanical engineers, who follow a specific methodology. Data goes through a robust quality assurance process, and schools are given the opportunity to feedback and comment on their report.

The department is not aware of any systemic misidentification of construction types in CDC1.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of (a) repairing, (b) refurbishing and (c) rebuilding school buildings in the Greater London region.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​​​Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. The department’s evidence-led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, has enabled the department to use consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform capital allocations and funding policy. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body.

Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1) programme between 2017 and 2019. Surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple components of the schools' buildings and land within twelve primary building elements using an A-D rating. Key findings, including regional breakdowns, from the CDC1 can be found in the report, ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC1 was carried out, and Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is now in progress to provide updated information and will be completed by 2026. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

The list of schools that have been awarded a place on the School Rebuilding Programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Funding for capital programmes up to the 2024/25 financial year comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of (a) repairing, (b) refurbishing and (c) rebuilding school buildings in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​​​Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. The department’s evidence-led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, has enabled the department to use consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform capital allocations and funding policy. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body.

Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1) programme between 2017 and 2019. Surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple components of the schools' buildings and land within twelve primary building elements using an A-D rating. Key findings, including regional breakdowns, from the CDC1 can be found in the report, ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC1 was carried out, and Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is now in progress to provide updated information and will be completed by 2026. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

The list of schools that have been awarded a place on the School Rebuilding Programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Funding for capital programmes up to the 2024/25 financial year comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of (a) repairing, (b) refurbishing and (c) rebuilding school buildings in the East.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​​​Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. The department’s evidence-led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, has enabled the department to use consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform capital allocations and funding policy. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body.

Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1) programme between 2017 and 2019. Surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple components of the schools' buildings and land within twelve primary building elements using an A-D rating. Key findings, including regional breakdowns, from the CDC1 can be found in the report, ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC1 was carried out, and Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is now in progress to provide updated information and will be completed by 2026. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

The list of schools that have been awarded a place on the School Rebuilding Programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Funding for capital programmes up to the 2024/25 financial year comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of schools with (a) Laingspan and (b) Integrid system builds.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department has prioritised Laingspan and Intergrid for replacement and included all identified school buildings of these types that are still in service in the School Rebuilding Programme.

The department is aware of 7 schools with Laingspan buildings and 18 schools with Intergrid buildings. Of these 24 schools (1 school has both a Laingspan and an Integrid block), 23 have been included in the School Rebuilding Programme. The remaining school was not included in the School Rebuilding Programme as the academy trust was taking its Intergrid block out of use.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the funding required to maintain the school estate.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department in order to ensure that they support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in 2023/24. In addition, the school rebuilding programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently the department provides additional support on a case by case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. Thanks to our evidence led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, this government has been able to allocate capital funding based on consistent data on condition need. Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the CDC programme between 2017 and 2019. Key findings from the CDC programme can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

This reported a total modelled remediation cost of £11.4 billion to repair or replace building components rated less than good (Grade A), which included elements which were rated as satisfactory.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC was carried out. Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) started in 2021 and will complete in 2026. It will provide the department with an improved and up to date evidence base on building condition to inform future capital policy and programmes. Early indications from our CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

Funding for capital programmes up to 2024/25 comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of (a) repairing, (b) refurbishing and (c) rebuilding school buildings in the East Midlands.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

​​​​Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.

​​​It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. The department’s evidence-led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, has enabled the department to use consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform capital allocations and funding policy. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body.

Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of the Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1) programme between 2017 and 2019. Surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple components of the schools' buildings and land within twelve primary building elements using an A-D rating. Key findings, including regional breakdowns, from the CDC1 can be found in the report, ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Significant capital investment has been provided since the CDC1 was carried out, and Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) is now in progress to provide updated information and will be completed by 2026. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, showed that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

The list of schools that have been awarded a place on the School Rebuilding Programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

Funding for capital programmes up to the 2024/25 financial year comes from the department’s overall £19 billion capital budget set at the 2021 Spending Review. Capital budgets beyond 2024/25 will be determined through a Spending Review, in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 17 of the NAO report on the Condition of school buildings, HC 1516, published on 28 June 2023, what estimate she has made of the number of children studying in schools where the responsible body or her Department believes that major repair works are required in each of the next five years.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

It is the responsibility of those who run schools, such as academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools based on local knowledge of their estates. They decide how to use annual funding provided, or when to apply to central programmes. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 to support responsible bodies and schools, including £1.8 billion in 2023/24. Where there are serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.

Consequently, the department does not hold an estimate of pupil numbers in schools that may need major works over the next five years, nor similar data from responsible bodies.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. A successor programme, CDC2, is underway and will be complete by 2026. Thanks to its evidence led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, this government has been able to allocate capital funding based on consistent data on condition need.

The National Audit Office, in their report on school buildings in June 2023, provided an estimated number of pupils that were in ‘a school that the responsible body or the Department for Education believes needs major rebuilding or refurbishment’. The figure is often misinterpreted as it is based on the total number of pupils in schools nominated to the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) in 2022 by responsible bodies, and includes schools that were already selected to be rebuilt in the SRP. Nominations to SRP give an indication of refurbishment need, but as responsible bodies are self-nominated, this is subjective. The figure is also for all pupils in these schools, whereas buildings in poor condition are often only a part of each estate.

Unlike programmes prior to 2010, the SRP and the Priority School Building Programme have been prioritised on condition need. The department robustly evaluated the nominations to the SRP and selected schools with the greatest need. This included all schools with evidence of exceptional need, such as structural issues, verified by the department against the programme criteria.

The SRP now has over 500 projects. The methodology for prioritising schools and all schools included in the programme are published on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

More broadly, the CDC2 survey is already demonstrating the government’s evidence led approach is working. Early indications from the CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, shows that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will have discussions with (a) responsible bodies and (b) local authorities on their school estate management capability.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Responsibility for keeping buildings safe and well-maintained lies with schools and their responsible bodies, such as local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary-aided bodies. The department supports these bodies by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes, and offering guidance and support.

Ministers have regular conversations with schools and their responsible bodies about school buildings and the management of their estates. Departmental officials also have regular conversations about estate management capability with organisations representing responsible bodies, as well as school estate management professionals with day-to-day experience managing their school estates to develop and improve the support the department offers.

The department regularly reminds responsible bodies of their legal duty to keep their buildings safe and maintain them in good order. Last year, the department updated the Academy Trust Handbook, adding a requirement for accounting officers to confirm that they are managing their estates in line with their existing responsibilities, as well as signposting to further guidance.

The department provides guidance, tools and support to help schools and responsible bodies effectively manage their school buildings and keep them safe, including the good estate management for schools (GEMS) guidance, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools. In addition, the Capital Advisers Programme is providing direct support to help academy trusts improve their estate management, by offering best practice recommendations from experienced technical advisers, in line with GEMS.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the average condition funding required per pupil by local authority.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Responsibility for keeping buildings safe and well-maintained lies with schools and their responsible bodies, such as local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary-aided bodies. The department supports these bodies by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes, and offering guidance and support.

The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. The department’s aim for condition funding is that responsible bodies receive a fair share of the available budget that takes account of their relative condition need. The department uses consistent data on the condition of the school estate to inform the allocation of funding. This means that the department targets more funding to where it is needed most, with schools in relatively poorer condition attracting more funding for their responsible body. It is then up to responsible bodies to use their local knowledge of priorities to target this investment.

This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. Thanks to the department’s evidence led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, this government has been able to allocate capital funding based on consistent data on condition need. Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of CDC during 2017 to 2019. As part of this, surveyors and engineers assessed the condition of multiple building and land components. This data was then used to estimate the remediation cost to bring all building components back to new or performing as intended. More information is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60af7cbbe90e071b54214c82/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf. This includes a regional breakdown of condition need.

CDC uses floor area of buildings rather than pupil numbers as a consistent approach to assessing buildings, alongside data on the condition of buildings. This is the approach also used in CDC2, the successor programme to CDC, which is underway and is due to complete in 2026. The average floor area per pupil varies depending on several factors, including the phase of education and type of school. Therefore, this is not an estimate that the department makes.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2023 to Question 519 on Schools: Buildings, what progress her Department has made on the system-built block assessment; and whether she has made an estimate of the number of schools where safety issues have been raised.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department follows Health and Safety Executive guidance on building safety issues, and monitors reports from Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures, the Institution of Structural Engineers, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for any bulletins on safety that may impact the school estate.

Where the department is alerted to significant safety issues with a building that cannot be managed with local resources, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis. There are no areas within schools open to pupils where there is a known immediate safety issue.

The department is working with the sector to establish a research study of several system-built frame types to establish how these buildings will age.

Following the National Audit Office’s recommendation in their June 2023 report on Condition of School Buildings, the department is consulting external academic and other experts on the proposed research into system-built blocks through a workshop in late March 2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of children learning in the 15% of the school estate with the greatest repair need.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The first ever review of the condition of the school estate was the Property Data Survey, which was carried out between 2012 and 2014, and covered 85% of the school estate. This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of CDC during 2017 to 2019. Thanks to the department’s evidence led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, this government has been able to allocate capital funding based on consistent data on condition need. This is the first UK government in history to allocate capital funding based on a national assessment of condition need.

The department’s plan to ensure schools are well maintained is working. CDC2, the successor programme to CDC, is underway and is due to complete in 2026. Early indications of the department’s CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, shows that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.

CDC uses floor area of buildings rather than pupil numbers as a consistent approach to assessing buildings. Key findings from the CDC1 programme can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.