Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 28
28
Not Addressed
Significant number of school building components in unsatisfactory condition (grades C and D)
Conclusion
DfE told us that its CDC1 programme involved giving a ‘grade’ to every building component within each school. There were four available grades, from A to D, with grades C and D denoting a less than satisfactory condition. DfE explained that it gave a grade C to 2.1% of components, and a grade D to 0.3% of components. It accepted that, while these numbers seem low, they still represent a significant number of schools, and large numbers of pupils are learning in those schools. DfE said that it is using its second Condition Data 41 TSB0007, The Confederation of School Trusts, The condition of school buildings, 13 July 2023 42 C&AG’s Report, Figure 5; paras 2.9, 3.11 43 July 2023 session, Q 72; Correspondence from DfE to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, 7 September 2023 The condition of school buildings 17 Collection programme (CDC2) to check whether it can address those components in the worst condition. But this still requires decisions about prioritisation, and there is also the risk that DfE is considering only the known issues in schools.44 DfE’s focus on reactive measures
Government Response Summary
The government response provides statistics on the school estate's condition and states that CDC2 is underway to provide updated data, but does not address the committee's concerns about prioritisation decisions or the risk of considering only known issues.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
6.4 Around 31% of the estate by floor area has been built since 2000. The condition data survey also shows that over 95% of the individual condition grades awarded to building elements were As and Bs - meaning in a good or satisfactory condition. 9.2 This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. CDC2 is now in train to provide updated data on the estate.