Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to monitor and evaluate the work done by contractors on academy schools for quality assurance purposes.
For capital projects delivered by the Department for Education, there is a structured process, with proven integrity, for ensuring that projects are procured and designed in accordance with the user’s operational needs. Contractors are also obliged to demonstrate how their designs meet the prescribed Output Specification. Independent Technical Advisers further give assurance by certifying that milestones are completed prior to payments being made to the contractors. In addition there is an agreed strategy of Post Occupancy Evaluation, to check user satisfaction and build quality at new or refurbished schools, once they are in use. Every school completed by the department is also subject to a Building Performance Evaluation, which includes energy and operational effectiveness assessment. For works delivered by academy trusts or other responsible bodies outside of the department’s programmes the contracting party will be responsible for ensuring contractor performance.