As reported by BBC News, hundreds of schools still lack builders as inflation and budget concerns slow down the government’s rebuilding programme
Hundreds of old and leaky school buildings in England still don’t have builders assigned to them – even though they’re on a flagship government rebuilding programme.
More than 500 schools are on the scheme, but by this summer contracts had been awarded to construction companies to rebuild just 62 of them.
The BBC has been looking into why targets are being missed. Industry experts have told us construction companies are nervous about taking on contracts in case costs exceed their budgets.
But the Department for Education (DfE) says the programme is on track and forecasts were made before high inflation hit the construction industry.
The School Rebuilding Programme, announced in 2020, aims to rebuild or refurbish about 500 schools in a decade.
Construction was due to start in 2021 at a rate of about 50 schools per year.
However, according to the National Audit Office (NAO), external the DfE forecast last year that it would complete fewer projects than it had initially planned.
Rebecca Larkin, from the Construction Products Association, which represents manufacturers, said while a lag between the announcement of the School Rebuilding Programme and getting spades in the ground was to be expected, it was still running behind.
“It is not coming through as quickly or on the schedule that was originally promised by the government,” she said, adding that she would have expected about 100 contracts to have been awarded by now.
Ms Larkin said high inflation may have made building companies “reticent” to take on contracts.
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