Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools built in phase one of the Priority Schools Building Programme had sprinkler systems fitted for fire safety.

The Government attaches the highest priority to the safety of pupils and staff. All schools have to follow strict fire safety regulations, including having a fire risk assessment designed to ensure they are as safe as possible and well prepared in the event of a fire.

Sprinklers must be fitted where they are deemed necessary to keep pupils and staff safe, following an assessment of risk at the design stage, or to meet local planning requirements. All new school building projects must comply with building regulations, including on fire safety, and this must be independently checked by Building Control or an Approved Inspector before buildings are occupied.

The number of new schools built by the Department under phase one of the Priority Schools Building Programme and open as of February 2019, was 253. Sprinklers are fitted in 77 of these schools.