Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a building condition survey for every school; and whether she plans to take steps to prioritise school repair and rebuilding projects.

It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.

The Department is providing funding to improve the condition of the school estate, with over £15 billion allocated since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed for 2023/24. This funding is informed by consistent data on the condition of the estate. On top of this, the Department will transform 500 schools through its School Rebuilding Programme, prioritising buildings in the poorest condition and those with evidence of potential safety issues.

The Department will spend whatever it takes to keep children safe. This includes paying for the emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including alternative classroom space where necessary, and supporting schools with remedial works. This is the Department’s immediate focus. Where schools need additional help with revenue costs like transport to other locations, the Department is actively engaging with every school affected to put appropriate support in place.

The Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme was the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate. Previous administrations took no such action to understand the condition of the school estate. Running from 2017 to 2019, it allowed the Department to understand the condition of the school estate over time, and to inform capital funding and programmes by providing information on the condition of all 22,000 government funded school buildings and 260 further education colleges in England.

Individual CDC1 school condition reports were shared with every school and the academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided bodies responsible for those schools, to help inform their investment plans alongside their own more detailed condition surveys and safety checks. Information from the CDC1 school condition reports was deposited in the House Libraries on 20 July 2023. This is accessible at: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details.

The Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme is underway and running from 2021 to 2026; individual CDC2 school condition reports are being shared with every school visited under the CDC2 programme.

The Department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in education settings at the heart of its policy decisions.