Schools: Buildings

(asked on 23rd February 2017) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all state school buildings are rated as being of a satisfactory standard; and if she will make a statement.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 28th February 2017

The Government is making a huge investment in the school estate of £23 billion up to 2021, to create a further 600,000 new school places, deliver 500 new free schools, and rebuild and refurbish buildings at over 500 schools.

From this, we are investing £10 billion in school replacement, maintenance and improvement works from 2016-2021. As part of this, the £4.4 billion Priority School Building Programme is rebuilding and refurbishing buildings in the very worst condition at more than 500 schools across the country.

Under the first phase of the programme, building work is being undertaken at 260 schools. Of these, 177 schools have already opened in their new and refurbished buildings. The vast majority of schools within the first phase of the programme will be delivered by the end of 2017, two years earlier than originally planned.

Since 2015, the Department has allocated funding on the basis of consistent condition data on the school estate, targeting funding where it is needed most. Funding is allocated each year to improve and maintain the condition of the school estate in order to address the condition need in the estate that was identified through the Property Data Survey.

It is our aim that, over time, the condition need of the school estate will be addressed as more school buildings are replaced and refurbished.

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