Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the names and locations of all school buildings that she has assessed as past their design lifespan.

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 of a building that may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.

The Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme was the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate. Previous administrations took no action to understand the condition of the school estate. Running from 2017 to 2019, the survey allowed the Department to understand the condition of the school estate over time and informed 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. During the time the CDC1 programme was nearing completion the first RAAC panel failed in a school in October 2018. Amendments to the successor programme CDC2 were implemented to monitor the presence of RAAC where it was visible or known to the school. The data collection started in early 2021.

The CDC programme was not designed to examine structural safety or hazardous substances or materials. The programme was designed to assess the relative condition of building fabric and mechanical and electrical systems through a consistent, visual survey to inform the allocation of capital funding to where it is most needed. A CDC survey does not replace the responsible body’s responsibility in meeting statutory requirements regarding health and safety.

The effective life expectancy of individual buildings can be improved by regular inspections, maintenance and upgrades over time. That is why the Department has a ten year rebuilding programme, with the aim to rebuild or refurbish school buildings in the poorest condition or with significant safety issues. It was only since 2010, with the Priority School Building Programme and its successors, that building condition was made a driver for schools to be chosen for rebuilding.

The Department follows Health and Safety Executive guidance on building safety issues and monitors reports from Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures, the Institution of Structural Engineers, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for any bulletins on safety that may impact the school estate.

Two system-built designs, Laingspan and Intergrid, have been found as having systemic risks. The Department has proactively identified these buildings, and the blocks in question have already been included in the School Building Programme, which is transforming 500 schools across the country over the next decade. Responsible bodies are given the support required to ensure the safety of pupils, staff, and the general public through appropriate mitigation means, including propping and building closure where required.

As part of our ongoing proactive approach, the Department is planning a research study on other system build types to examine if there are other potential systemic issues that are not yet identified by current best practices.

The Department supports schools in a number of ways. This includes significant capital funding and providing guidance and support to help schools and responsible bodies manage their buildings effectively.

The Department has allocated over £15 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year. The School Rebuilding Programme will also transform buildings at 500 schools over the next decade, prioritising schools in poor condition and delivering new buildings which are net carbon zero in operation. The Department has announced 400 schools to date, including 239 in December 2022. In 2022/23, the Department announced an additional £500 million in funding to improve buildings at schools and colleges, prioritising energy efficiency. Up to £635 million over the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years has been made available through the public sector decarbonisation scheme for installing low carbon heating and energy efficiency measures in public buildings, with a minimum of 30% going to schools and colleges.

Where the Department is alerted to significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case by case basis.