Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to fund improvements to academy school buildings which are not fit for purpose.

Ensuring schools have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. The department remains committed to improving the condition of the school estate and to the continuing School Rebuilding Programme as part of that.

Responsibility for keeping buildings safe and well-maintained lies with schools and their responsible bodies, such as academy trusts and local authorities. 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 capital funding for the 2024/25 financial year to improve the condition of the estate, which is informed by consistent data on the condition of buildings. This included a capital allocation for large multi-academy trusts, large voluntary aided bodies and local authorities. Small and stand-alone academy trusts were able to apply to the Condition Improvement Fund for specific projects. Academies and other schools also received their own allocation to support small capital projects to improve facilities. Allocations and the outcome of the Condition Improvement Fund are published on GOV.UK.

The department is also fixing the problem of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) as quickly as possible, permanently removing RAAC either through grant funding or rebuilding.

All future decisions on spending plans, including for capital funding, remain subject to the Spending Review and further details will be set out in due course.