"Building Schools for the Future" (Hansard, 26 June 2003)

§ The Minister for School Standards (Mr. David Miliband)

On 26 February, I made a statement about the Government's proposals for a new approach to capital investment, "Building Schools for the Future". The proposals are toContinue existing, successful capital programmes for primary and secondary schools; but use the extra capital investment available in 2005–06 for a major programme of secondary school building; Collaborate better with other capital funders to create schools that are community assets; Target the extra capital investment on geographical areas, covering groups of schools; Develop exemplar designs to ensure consistently high standards of design for all new schools; and Establish a new national body to support local authorities in ensuring that new schools are well designed, built on time, offer value for money to the taxpayer, and properly maintained over their lives.

We consulted widely on these proposals and received 1,141 responses by the close of consultation on 31 May. We also held six consultation meetings across England to listen to the views of schools, local education authorities, dioceses, local learning and skills councils, and others with an interest.

Four-fifths of respondents agree the time is right to approach capital investment in a new way to build schools of the future. This level of support, which extends across schools, local authorities, and the design and construction industries, means we can push ahead with reform. We need to rebuild and refurbish our secondary schools on a much larger scale, not just patch and mend worn-out buildings.

We will also look carefully at the availability and balance of capital funding across the system, so that there is significant investment to address the urgent building needs of primary schools and secondary schools that are not included in the early phases of "Building Schools for the Future".

Local authorities and local people will play a central role in drawing together this new approach. "Building Schools for the Future" is about Government supporting the delivery of local educational visions, and the proposed new national body will be designed to offer technical support to assist local partnerships deliver their strategies.

The new approach will also help central and local government plan together over the long-term and improve on the old culture of annual, win-lose bidding.

48WS

We must ensure we have a standard of school that our young people deserve, inspirational well-designed schools to motivate teaching and learning, and up-to-date facilities to enable us to compete as a world-class economy in the 21st century.

My Department is writing today to all local education authorities, and to those who either responded to the consultation or attended one of the regional consultation meetings. We are announcing the consultation results, and confirming our intention to proceed with our plans. We hope to issue to local education authorities in July detailed guidance on how to access funding under "Building Schools for the Future".

Thirty copies of this letter, the summary of consultation responses, and a report on the regional events will be placed in the Library.