Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the workings of the Educational Funding Agency Regional Framework Agreement; and if she will change that Agreement to enable more local construction companies to bid for contracts.

We would not be able to deliver school buildings without the substantial involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the country.

The regional framework is just one of a number of procurement routes used by the Education Funding Agency for the delivery of central programmes, for example the free schools programme uses a wide of variety of procurement routes, including local arrangements. In addition the vast majority of capital funding for schools is distributed directly to academies, local authorities and other responsible bodies who are free to select the procurement method which best suits their needs. The use of Education Funding Agency frameworks is not mandated and it continually reviews those frameworks and procurement methods to ensure SMEs and local businesses are not unduly excluded.