Schools applying for funding for remedial or construction work - Find a freedom of information request

1. How many times schools in your area have unsuccessfully applied for funding for remedial/ construction work over the last ten years;

2. What amount of funding was requested on each occasion; 

3. How many buildings in the school estate in your area are rated as 'critical and very likely' in terms of the risk that building collapse or failure could cause death or injury, in each of the last ten years as measured by the Department for Education's corporate risk register; and

4. How much schools in your area have spent on remedial works in each of the last ten years.

  

1. In February 2022 Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) submitted five nominations to the Department for Education School Rebuilding Programme. These were for the following schools: Leasingham St Andrew's Primary School, South Hykeham Primary School, Saxilby Primary School, Fleet Wood Lane Primary School and Baston primary School. These applications were all unsuccessful. The local authority only made nominations for Local Authority maintained schools. Academies/Aided schools will have been able to submit their own applications. A full list of schools who applied is available on gov.uk Lincolnshire County Council also submitted applications to the Department for Education School Building Programme for Long Sutton the Peele, Gosberton House, Lincoln Sir Francis Hill and Deeping St James Linchfield. Deeping St James Linchfield was the only successful application.

2. Funding amounts were not specified in the application.

3. None of LCC’s surveys have identified any schools that have this risk.

4. LCC is not able to answer this question. The reason for this is that schools manage their own budgets and can procure contractors directly so LCC do not have access to the cost. LCC have a scheme that schools can use for statutory maintenance called SEMS, however, if any remedials are identified via a maintenance activity, the school can directly contact contractors to carry out the works. LCC do follow up to ensure that school complete the remedials that have been identified via SEMS, but we do not ask about cost. To collate this info would require contacting all schools and asking them individually for the data which would take a lot of Officer time. We would also require a definition of what is meant as a remedial.