Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the letter dated 15 March 2021 from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System to the hon. Member for Sefton Central, if he will publish details of the criteria for bids for funding for the rebuilding of schools with high levels of need.

In February 2021, the Department announced the first 50 schools to benefit from the new School Rebuilding Programme as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade.

School Rebuilding Programme investment is targeted on the basis of buildings’ conditions. A full explanation of the methodology used to prioritise the first 50 schools, and details of the process for prioritising the next 50, has been published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme/school-rebuilding-programme.

We intend to consult later this year on the approach to prioritising schools for the longer-term programme. Further details will be set out at that time and we would welcome the views of the school sector and other interested parties.