HC Deb 10 January 2001 vol 360 cc553-4W
Mr. Pickles

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for what reason the allocation of funds for additional capital projects in secondary schools in the parliamentary constituency of Brentwood and Ongar is less than £30,000 per school. [143667]

Jacqui Smith

This Government inherited a position where less than £700 million a year was being invested by Central Government in school buildings, leading to crumbling buildings and widespread disrepair. We have already tripled annual investment to over £2 billion this year and it will rise further to £3.2 billion by 2003–04. Over the next three years, we will make available a total of £7.8 billion for investment in schools buildings.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his pre-Budget Statement on 8 November 2000 that additional capital funding of £167 million would be provided in 2000–01 for schools across England. This was distributed as additional Devolved Formula Capital for schools. Allocations were made on a per school and per pupil formula basis (which for secondary schools equated to £3,488 per school, plus £13.08 per pupil or £26.16 per Special Educational Needs pupil). All schools in England of the same type and size received the same amount. Taken together with the original allocation of Devolved Formula Capital to schools for 2000–01 of £187 million, this represents a total amount of £7,488 per school, plus £18.72 per primary pupil, £28.08 per secondary pupil or £56.16 per Special Educational Needs pupil.

This is in addition to capital investment made available to Essex LEA through Annual Capital Guidelines, grant funding for Voluntary Aided schools, New Deal for Schools, Schools Access Initiative, Class Size Initiative, School Security grant, PFI credits, National Grid for Learning grant, Devolved Formula and Seed Challenge grant, and several specific grants such as School Laboratories. In round figures these total £12 million in 1996–97 (before the local government re-organisation), £11 million in 1997–98, £15 million in 1998–99, £22 million in 1999–2000 and £57 million in 2000–01. This has taken funding per pupil for schools in Essex from an average of £50 per head in 1996–97 to over £270 per head in 2000–01.