Josh MacAlister

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) on securing this debate and on his formidable advocacy for schools across his constituency. As a former teacher who has spent years standing in front of young people in classrooms in Oldham and Stockport, I know at first hand that although the space around learning is not the entire story, it can make a difference to the whole learning process. Now, as a Minister in the Department for Education, I am proud that we have set out a 10-year plan to renew our schools and colleges so that children and staff have the high-quality classrooms that they deserve. This Government are doing things differently to fix the failures of the past. Across Government, we are maintaining public investment at the highest sustained level in four decades, supported by an increase in capital spending over this Parliament of more than £120 billion on previous plans. We are increasing and prioritising investment where it is needed most, through maintenance, renewal and rebuilding programmes. For that reason, we are providing unprecedented long-term funding and have increased overall capital investment in education to about £38 billion through to 2029-30—the highest amount since 2010. With over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, the education estate supports the outcomes, health and wellbeing of 10 million children and young people. The benefits are clear, but the challenges are real. For too long, schools have had to patch and mend buildings that have already deteriorated, instead of getting the rebuilds they need and arguably should have had a long time ago. We are already turning the page on years of decline in the school estates. Our education estates strategy set out a 10-year plan to deliver a decade of renewal in the estate, backed by unprecedented long-term funding. We are investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034-35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the estate and are investing almost £20 billion through to 2034-35 in the school rebuilding programme. There are more than 500 schools already in the SRP, with over 80% in delivery already; 68 schools have been rebuilt, with 56 completed under this Government. There are two schools in the programme in my hon. Friend’s constituency of Rushcliffe. The rebuild of Sutton Bonington primary school was completed last year. Earlier this year, I was delighted to confirm that St Peter’s junior school is joining the school rebuilding programme, following my hon. Friend’s representations about the conditions at the school; it was his leadership that made the difference in getting that school rebuild confirmed. The Department is working closely with Nottinghamshire county council to rebuild the school, with high-quality buildings for pupils and staff ensuring that the new space supports inclusion now and into the future. The delivery timeline is shaped by the feasibility and design work for the rebuild; this is being developed at the moment in discussions with Nottinghamshire county council and the school. We will select a further 250 schools to join the school rebuilding programme by early 2027. Places will be prioritised for schools in the worst condition and in the local areas where places are needed now. Earlier this year, responsible bodies were asked to nominate schools using published guidance and criteria. I acknowledge my hon. Friend’s support for Ash Lea academy, which is nominated for the school rebuilding programme. The Department is carefully assessing all the nominations. There is not much more that I can say at this stage, given that it is an ongoing process. I was grateful to meet my hon. Friend in September to discuss Edwalton primary school. Flying High Trust has a school condition allocation of £1.6 million for 2026-27 to decide how to invest in its schools, including Edwalton. Nottinghamshire county council also has a school condition allocation of almost £5.9 million for this financial year to invest across its maintained schools, including Lady Bay primary school. Those are the main ways in which we allocate resources in the system to ensure maintenance.