Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled 10-year plan to revitalise schools and colleges for every child, published on 11 February 2026, what proportion of schools and colleges in Essex are vulnerable to risks including flooding and overheating; and how the Renewal and Retrofit Programme will prioritise resilience improvements.

The Education Estates Strategy outlines the challenge of mitigating climate‑related risks across the entire education estate. This is supported by the department’s research and analysis into overheating, flooding and water scarcity, 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.

The department will continue to increase resilience to overheating and flooding through the Renewal and Retrofit Programme, which will be expanded to all regions in England from 2027.

19 schools in Essex are already receiving grants for sustainable drainage systems to mitigate risk of flood, and another 10 schemes are under assessment for flood protection measures.