Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding allocated for the (a) maintenance and (b) refurbishment of school buildings in the last three years.

It is the responsibility of those who run our schools and who work with their schools day to day to manage maintenance and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. This includes academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary aided school bodies. The Department provides additional support on a case by case basis if we are alerted to a serious safety issue by responsible bodies that cannot be managed within local resources.

Well-maintained and safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. That is why the Department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 to keeping schools safe and in good working order. This includes £5.8 billion allocated between the 2021/22 and 2023/24 financial years, which is informed by consistent data on the school estate. Early indications from our latest survey, Condition Data Collection 2, alongside feedback from responsible bodies, show that in almost every case where a Grade D (bad condition) component was identified in Condition Data Collection 1, it has now been addressed.

The Department’s School Rebuilding Programme will transform 500 schools over the next decade, prioritising schools in poor condition or with potential safety issues. 400 schools have been announced to date, including 239 in December 2022.