£14m to aid school repairs

SCHOOLS are to receive £14m for smallscale repairs and maintenance from the Welsh Government.

The money will be spent on areas such as boilers and plumbing works to school toilets, caretaker costs, painting and decorating, plastering and repairing or replacing flooring.

The funds will complement work to improve school buildings through the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools and Education Programme, Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said.

Local authorities will receive the funding in the first instance and will then distribute the money to all schools in Wales.

Ms Williams said: “I hear it often enough, from teachers and head teachers across the country, that time and funding is too often taken up by school maintenance issues as opposed to supporting learners.

“That’s why I am making available an additional £14m, which is to be allocated directly to schools.

“This will address small-scale maintenance costs, alleviating pressures on school budgets. Every single school across Wales will benefit from this money and it will go directly to the front line.

“I hope local authorities are now able to transfer this money across to schools as quickly as possible so that essential work can begin.”

Last November the Welsh Government announced that more than 100 crumbling and outdated school and college buildings are to rebuilt or upgraded in a £2.3bn programme.

It marks the second wave of investment in the government’s longterm capital investment programme.