Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 36401, answered on 27th October 2026, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities on encouraging schools to apply for funding ahead of the roll-out.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new Renewal and Retrofit Programme (RRP) will improve the condition of school and college buildings and increase resilience to climate change so that buildings can last for decades to come and are net zero ready. The programme will initially focus on replacing the worst-condition, life-expired temporary buildings alongside installation of energy generation and efficiency measures in the 2026/27 academic year. There was no application process and projects are currently being selected. The department is working with responsible bodies for those projects, including local authorities for maintained schools.
As the programme expands from 2027, it will support a broader range of renewal projects while considering measures to improve resilience to flooding and overheating. The department will set out further details in due course on how schools and colleges can join the programme when it is expanded from 2027.
The department presented the details of the RRP programme with a group of local authorities at the Education Estates conference in October.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 28015, answered on 15 September 2026, whether her Department has made an estimate of the cost of installing an adequate air conditioning system in a school.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Air conditioning is one option for mitigating the impact of overheating in schools, alongside other measures such as external shading or improved ventilation.
The cost of installing an air conditioning system in a school will vary based on the size, age and condition of the school, as well the type of system being installed.
The department provides guidance to schools and colleges to help them plan, prioritise and deliver estate improvements that address condition, suitability, resilience and decarbonisation. This may include the installation of air conditioning. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improve-and-renew-developing-your-long-term-estates-plan/improve-and-renew-your-long-term-estates-plan.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Department's Answer to Question 17788, answered on 16 July 2026, what steps the Department is taking to raise awareness amongst schools of this funding.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In February 2026, the department published the Education Estates Strategy to support and provide guidance for those responsible for managing school and college estates. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-estates-strategy/education-estates-strategy-a-decade-of-national-renewal.
Alongside this, the department also launched a new digital service, ‘Manage your education estate’, to bring together our estates guidance, data, tools, programmes and funding in one place to provide easier access for responsible bodies and a clear route to share information and communicate with the department. This service available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-your-education-estate.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Department's Answer to WQ17788 on 16 July 2026, what portion of the £710 million renewal and retrofit programme has been spent on air conditioning systems for schools to date.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new Renewal and Retrofit Programme was launched to improve the condition of school and college buildings and increase resilience to climate change so buildings can last for decades to come and are net zero ready. The programme will initially focus in 2026/27 on replacing the worst-condition, life-expired temporary buildings alongside installation of energy generation and efficiency measures. There was no application process, and projects are currently being selected.
As the programme expands from 2027, it will support a broader range of renewal projects, such as those addressing significant issues with roofs, heating and electrical systems, while also considering measures to improve resilience to flooding and overheating. The programme will take a whole-site approach, assessing individual school needs and delivering a range of interventions that improve building condition and increase resilience to climate change.
The department will set out further details on how schools and colleges join the programme when it is expanded from 2027 in due course.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer to WQ17788 on 16 July 2026, what portion of the £710 million renewal and retrofit programme is expected to be spent on air conditioning systems for schools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new Renewal and Retrofit Programme was launched to improve the condition of school and college buildings and increase resilience to climate change so buildings can last for decades to come and are net zero ready. The programme will initially focus in 2026/27 on replacing the worst-condition, life-expired temporary buildings alongside installation of energy generation and efficiency measures. There was no application process, and projects are currently being selected.
As the programme expands from 2027, it will support a broader range of renewal projects, such as those addressing significant issues with roofs, heating and electrical systems, while also considering measures to improve resilience to flooding and overheating. The programme will take a whole-site approach, assessing individual school needs and delivering a range of interventions that improve building condition and increase resilience to climate change.
The department will set out further details on how schools and colleges join the programme when it is expanded from 2027 in due course.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the number of schools that stop offering hot meals to children during heatwaves.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not made an assessment of the number of schools that stop offering hot meals during periods of hot weather.
Beyond the School Food Standards, decisions about catering arrangements are a matter for individual schools and their catering providers. The department’s expectation is that schools remain open wherever it is safe to do so, and schools may make operational adjustments in response to local conditions and risk assessments during period of extreme heat. The department’s guidance emphasises the importance of ensuring pupils have access to food, water and appropriate facilities, while taking practical steps to keep children safe and comfortable in hot weather.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to protect the wellbeing of children in schools during heatwaves.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department takes periods of hot weather and heatwaves seriously and has published a climate risk assessment. We continue to support responsible bodies and schools to provide education in a safe environment.
To support them, the department has also published guidance to support education settings during hot weather, available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This advice draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency. In most cases, schools are the safest place for children during hot weather, as staff can actively monitor pupils, ensure regular hydration, and make adjustments to keep them cool. Children may also not be any cooler at home than in school, as recent analysis by the National Housing Federation and the Chartered Institute of Housing shows that 1.6 million children are currently living in overheated homes.
We are improving infrastructure through the Education Estates Strategy, including a £710 million renewal and retrofit programme to 2029/30. We are also investing almost £3 billion annually by 2034/25 in capital maintenance and almost £20 billion in the School Rebuilding Programme to rebuild over 750 schools with buildings that are future proofed against the risks of climate change.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds data on the number of schools with air conditioning installed in each local authority.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department holds information on air-conditioning units identified through the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme, which surveyed state-funded schools between 2021 and 2026.
The information collected reflects the position observed at the time of the survey visits. The CDC surveys are visual and non-intrusive, and air-conditioning units are recorded only where they are observed during a survey visit.
The department has published a climate change risk assessment for the education sector and is improving climate resilience across the education estate through programmes, including the £710 million renewal and retrofit programme and the school rebuilding programme, which will deliver climate-resilient buildings at more than 750 schools.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools to install air conditioning systems.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department takes periods of hot weather and heatwaves seriously and has published a climate risk assessment which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-of-uk-climate-change-risk-on-the-delivery-of-education/summary-of-findings-in-relation-to-3-climate-risks-overheating-flooding-and-water-scarcity.
We are improving infrastructure and strengthening resilience across the education estate through our Education Estates Strategy. This includes a new £710 million renewal and retrofit programme to improve condition and climate resilience, investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate and investment of almost £20 billion through to 2034/35 in the school rebuilding programme, delivering climate‑resilient buildings at over 750 schools.
The department has recently updated the design standards, covering overheating risk assessments which account for rising temperatures associated with climate change, as well as external shading and cross ventilation. Our improve and renew guidance also outlines measures that could be implemented to mitigate overheating. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improve-and-renew-developing-your-long-term-estates-plan/improve-and-renew-your-long-term-estates-plan.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to meet that the commitment set out in the Post 16 Skills White Paper to maintain 16–18 funding per student in real terms.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.