§ Lord Hanningfieldasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Filkin on 11 January (WA 46), what is the total figure in England for (a) schools backlog repair work; and (b) future schools maintenance requirements in the next five years. [HL983]
118WA
§ Lord FilkinSchool buildings' maintenance requirements for English local education authorities total approximately £700 million, £3.7 billion and £3.6 billion for Priority 1, 2 and 3 work respectively. Priorities 1, 2 and 3 relate to urgent work, work needed within two years and work needed within three to five years. Backlog repairs are not separately identified in the data. The figures cover cyclical and scheduled maintenance. They are derived from data supplied to the department by authorities, based on their asset-management condition assessments.
Central government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996–97 to £4.9 billion this year and will rise further to £6.3 billion by 2007–08. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock.