Children in Wolverhampton will soon benefit from upgraded school facilities, thanks to a multi-million pound government investment endorsed by Stuart Anderson MP. It includes almost £3 million for Wolverhampton Council, while over £1 million is allocated directly to the city’s schools for capital priorities. In total, the Government announced £1.8 billion in capital funding to improve the condition of England’s schools and sixth-form colleges.
Stuart has welcomed the investment, which means that the Government will have invested over £17 billion since 2015 to keep schools safe and well-maintained. The funding for Wolverhampton consists of £2,726,760 in School Condition Allocations to be delivered via the City Council and £1,170,914 in Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) being sent directly to local schools to spend on capital projects that meet their own priorities. This funding will support schools to invest in projects like refurbishing classrooms, improving playgrounds, and installing new windows, as well as larger projects such as upgrading heating systems, replacing roofs, or rewiring electrical systems.
The Government has also made available £450 million nationally via the Condition Improvement Fund programme for 2024-25. Following a rigorous assessment of the bids, 733 academies, sixth-form colleges, and voluntary aided schools will benefit from funding to improve building condition, compliance, energy efficiency, and health and safety. This includes Wolverhampton Girls’ High School.
The funding is based on 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. It has provided the Government with information on the condition of all 22,000 government funded school buildings and 260 further education colleges in England, enabling it to direct funding to where it is most needed – something that previous administrations failed to do since they took no action to have a national assessment of the condition of schools.
Stuart Anderson MP said: “As a parent, I want to make sure all children get a high-quality education. That starts with access to well-maintained, safe school buildings. This is the first UK government in history to undertake a comprehensive survey of school conditions, enabling us to take the long term decisions to upgrade schools. Over £17 billion has been invested since 2015. This latest investment ensures that even more children in Wolverhampton and beyond benefit from improved facilities.”
