£919m Acceleration for School Building Projects

More than 100 local authorities in England will share £499m brought forward from 2010-11 to the coming financial year, after bidding for capital investment.

The announcement will mean that thousands of modernisation and small building projects will start early, meaning a big boost for the construction industry and the local economy in general.

The Children’s Secretary Ed Balls has also accelerated another £390m of capital funding for Headteachers in England to invest in smaller projects as they see fit – from building new classrooms or science laboratories to fitting out new gyms or ICT facilities. A further £30m is now available for play areas.

The announcement is a key plank of the Government’s fiscal stimulus package to boost the economy in the current downturn. It means that overall schools capital spending in 2009-10 will be will now be £7.943 billion – up from under £700m a year in 1997.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said: “Today’s measures are a vital boost for our unprecedented school building programme – with an immediate cash boost over the next year to accelerate smaller modernisation projects, alongside further longer-term financial support for BSF.

“The construction industry is one of the keys to a strong economy. We will never forgive ourselves if we turn our back on it during the current tough times and do not sustain it for the future.

“Accelerating £919m by 12 months is going to give immediate support to thousands of small and medium-sized businesses fitting out these new facilities.”

Mr Balls also welcomed new measures to support long-term public capital investment programmes by enabling private finance to keep flowing into the Building Schools for the Future programme (BSF) and other PFI-funded projects.

He commented: “We’ve transformed the quality of school facilities – with 1,100 new or rebuilt schools in the last decade, 27,000 new classrooms and fantastic new facilities springing up across the country. Every school and 116 local authorities can now bring forward planned modernisations and refurbishments instead of waiting for another year – meaning children and teachers can benefit from top quality, new facilities sooner.”

The investment programme means that a typical un-modernised primary school of 250 pupils will now get £47,950 this year, including £13,700 brought forward from their 2010-11 allocations whilst a newly built, rebuilt or refurbished primary will now get £23,975 up from £17,125. A typical un-modernised secondary school of 1000 pupils will now get £158,200, including £45,200 brought forward, and a newly built, rebuilt or refurbished secondary will now get £79,100 up from £56,500.

Schools Minister Jim Knight commented: “I welcome the Treasury’s announcement today giving further support to major public building programmes in the face of tightened lending in the financial markets. This gives us another important tool to support our unprecedented secondary school building programme on track.

“Overall, BSF is well-placed to weather the current challenging times in the finance sector – and though we are not out of the woods, there are positive signs that private lenders are still supporting the once-in-a-generation building programme.”