§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the final date for compliance with the 1981 school building regulations; what is the extent of compliance to date in(a) Humberside, (b) West Sussex and (c) the Inner London education authority; what will be the cost of full compliance in each; what national funding is available for this work and what is his estimate of the impact on the community charge in each case necessary to comply if these costs fall on the local authority.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe operative date of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1981 is 1 August 1981 167W except for certain provisions which represent a marked change from the corresponding requirements of the 1972 regulations. In these cases the regulations provide that the operative date for existing buildings is 1 September 1991.
Under section 10(2) of the 1944 Education Act, it is the duty of LEAs to secure that their schools conform to the standards prescribed in the regulations. The Department does not maintain records on the nature of the building stock in individual local education authorities which would enable the community charge implications of compliance to be estimated.
Since 1981, capital expenditure on schools, including buildings, land, plant, machinery and equipment, has totalled £3,914 million (£4,775 million in 1989–90 terms). From April 1990, funding for capital expenditure at LEA schools will be available through local authority borrowing in respect of credit approvals announced by the Department of the Environment, from receipts from the disposal of capital assets, and from contributions from revenue expenditure. Capital grants are available for expenditure at voluntary-aided schools.