Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to guidance on the Condition Improvement Fund, updated on 13 October 2022, and the Condition Improvement Fund 2023-24 Information for applicants, published by his Department in October 2022, whether a commitment to a proposed condition improvement scheme demonstrated in other ways other than by seeking a loan will improve an application's (a) probability of success and (b) speed of processing.

Providing a financial contribution, other than a Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) loan, such as trust reserves, has a very marginal influence on whether an application is successful. For CIF 2022/23, around 41% of all applications were successful, and for those that provided a contribution almost 42% were successful. There is no difference in the handling of a CIF application’s assessment whether or not it includes a contribution or a loan request.

It is the overall score that decides whether a bid is successful. The main consideration for applicants should be on achieving a high overall score against all three assessment criteria by evidencing high condition need, strong cost certainty and detailed project delivery planning.