Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that pupil referral unit premises are fit for purpose.

Local authorities are responsible for providing enough school places for their area. The department provides capital funding through the basic need grant to secure mainstream school places and through the high needs provision capital allocations to invest in places for children and young people with special education needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision (AP). In Cannock Chase constituency there are four special schools, one pupil referral unit (PRU), one Progress Centre and one independent AP provider.

Ensuring schools and other education settings have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. Responsibility for keeping education buildings safe and well-maintained lies with settings and their responsible bodies, such as local authorities and academy trusts. The department supports them by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.

The department has allocated £1.8 billion in condition funding for the 2024/25 financial year to improve the condition of schools, including PRUs. As part of the 2025/26 financial year budget, we are increasing capital funding to improve the condition of the estate to £2.1 billion, which is £300 million more than this year. The department expects to publish allocations in the spring, including for individual local authorities and other responsible bodies. Capital funding beyond 2025/26 will be set out following the spending review.