Somerset County Council to spend £7m on making repairs to schools

Somerset County Council has committed a substantial section of its capital programme towards replacing items and elements of schools which are “beyond economic repair”.

Officers are currently inviting schools to submit proposals for how the money will be spent, with a view to much of the work being carried out by contractors over the summer holidays.

The council has also pledged to spend £4m over the next three years to maintain other community assets – with improvements being planned for four museums and two outdoor education centres.

Of the £7,323,000 which the council has committed, around £3m comes directly from the Department for Education (DfE).

The council has a legal duty to ensure all schools which are run by the local authority are in a fit state, with the money being targeted towards “high-priority repair and maintenance issues”.

Darren Puckett, the council’s corporate property projects and finance officer, said: “Schools are given the opportunity to submit proposals for consideration for funding through the annual requirement to submit building condition surveys.

“The highest priority/most urgent works will be considered for the programme first. Lower priority works that can be undertaken during term time will then be considered, enabling work to be undertaken throughout the year, helping to limit capacity and programme issues experienced during the school holidays.

“The final consideration will be given to lower priority works that can only be undertaken during the school holidays, but where an element of match funding will be required from the school.”

Academies, or the multi-academy trusts which run them, will not be eligible to apply, since their funding comes directly from the DfE’s education funding agency (EFA) rather than via grants to the council.

Voluntary Aided (VA) schools are also ineligible, since their capital funding comes through the EFA via their local diocese (which, in most parts of Somerset, is the Diocese of Bath and Wells).

Mr Puckett added: “Should key components within these [local authority-run] school buildings which are beyond economic repair not be replaced, there is a high risk of disruption to the schools’ ability to operate and provide education.

“Only those items requiring urgent attention are proposed which, if not addressed, could lead to school closure or loss of essential facilities to deliver the curriculum or would present a risk to pupil health and safety if not addressed at the earliest opportunity.”

On top of the school maintenance programme, the council has committed £4M towards urgent repair and maintenance work on its 141 properties across the county – including four museums and the outdoor education centres near Cheddar and Kilve.

A spokesman said: “The corporate condition programme is a three-year programme of maintenance on our corporate property assets.

“We forecast spending £900,000  across these assets this year with the corporate programme being confirmed by June.

“There are separate budgets for both South West Heritage Assets (four museums) and the Outdoors Educations Centres (Kilve and Charterhouse).

“We are in consultation with the organisations that operate these assets to agree a programme of works over the next three years.

“These will be run as seperate programmes, with most of the works being commissioned next year.”

Of the £4m committed, £1.2m will be spent on the outdoor educations centres, and £400,000 will go towards heritage assets, with the remainder being spent on other corporate buildings within the council’s portfolio.