§ 17. Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much money has been allocated for(a) new school building and (b) major building repairs and improvement in the north-west since May 1997. [157924]
§ Jacqui Smith£839.6 million in total has been allocated for investment in school buildings in the north-west in the years since 1997. Of this, £199.5 million has been allocated through the New Deal for Schools programme, which is targeted at major repairs and improvements. Over the next three years we have so far allocated a further £501.3 million in funding for schools in the north-west, as part of the biggest school building and repair programme in over half a century.