Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make an assessment of the effect on educational (a) provision and (b) outcomes of the physical condition of the 1960s Second Consortium of Local Authorities schools in (i) Hampshire and (ii) North East Hampshire.

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) will collect information on the condition of Second Consortium of Local Authorities (SCOLA) school buildings in Hampshire and North East Hampshire as part of the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme. The CDC will run from 2017 to autumn 2019 and is a high-level, visual and non-invasive collection of consistent condition information for all government funded schools in England. It is the successor to the Property Data Survey (PDS) which collected condition information on the education estate between 2012 and 2014.

The CDC will assess the condition of school buildings and how they have changed since the PDS but it will not provide any assessment of the effect on educational provision or outcomes. The CDC will provide the EFA with an improved and up to date evidence base which will help inform future funding allocations and help direct investment to the areas with the greatest condition need. It will also help identify school buildings for inclusion in future rebuilding programmes and help those responsible for maintaining buildings develop their building management data.

In most cases, CDC condition information will be made available to a school and its responsible body within 8-10 weeks of the school’s site visit.