Portsmouth North schools win bid funding from central government.

Dear Penny,

Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) 2020-21.

On 29 June the Government announced that £560 million of additional condition funding would be made available this year to maintain and improve the condition of the school estate. This is in addition to the £1.45 billion already provided for school maintenance in the financial year 2020-21.

Today I have announced how this £560 million will be distributed. £182 million will be allocated to fund a further 580 Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) projects from the 2020-21 application round at 548 eligible academies, sixth form colleges and non-diocesan voluntary aided schools.

I am pleased to inform you that the list of successful projects published includes the following school(s) in your constituency:

• Solent Junior School

• Northern Parade Junior School

• College Park Infant School

The core priority of CIF is keeping eligible school buildings safe and in good working order. Most CIF funding aims to address issues with significant consequences that existing revenue or devolved formula capital funding cannot meet. These include issues with poor building condition, building compliance, energy efficiency and health and safety.

CIF also supports a small proportion of expansion projects for Ofsted-rated good or outstanding academies, sixth form colleges and non-diocesan voluntary aided schools that need to expand their existing facilities and/or floor space to either increase the number of admissions in the main year of entry or address overcrowding.

Overall, through the 2020-21 bidding round we have now awarded a total of £615 million for 2,056 projects, benefitting 1,790 schools and colleges.

As in previous rounds, the fund was heavily oversubscribed so only those projects that demonstrated a high project need and aligned with CIF priorities have been able to be funded. More information on CIF, including the full list of the new successful projects published today can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund.

Alongside CIF, local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary aided school bodies, such as dioceses, instead receive a School Condition Allocation (SCA) to invest in condition priorities across their schools. Thanks to the £560 million boost, a further £374 million will be allocated through SCA for 2020-21. We will make a proportional addition to the schools that are eligible for SCA for the current financial year. We expect payments to be in two equal instalments in August and September.

As previously stated, in addition to annual CIF bidding rounds, I am delighted that the Government has committed to a new ten-year multi-wave rebuilding programme for schools. This will be an ambitious programme, replacing poor condition and ageing school buildings, with modern, energy efficient designs, transforming education for thousands of pupils.

My Department will start next year with 50 schools in the most need of repair supported by over £1 billion in capital funding - with full details of these projects to be confirmed in the autumn and further funding to be set out at the Spending Review.

Yours sincerely,

Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP Secretary of State for Education