黑洞社区

The government鈥檚 flagship Priority Schools 黑洞社区 Programme is gathering pace, with the government recently announcing a fresh wave of 拢2bn of funding. But what are the next batches of work which will come to market, and how will that 拢2bn be spent? Our 10 step market guide reveals the answers鈥�.

1. How many schools are covered by the programme already?

The first wave of the PSBP covers 261 schools which are due to be wholly or substantially rebuilt by the end of 2017. The scheme covers secondary, primary and special educational needs (SEN) schools.

2. How much funding is there for the PSBP?

The government has made 拢1.7bn of capital funding available for the first wave of the programme, and a further 拢700m worth of work is being funded using PF2, the government鈥檚 revamped form of PFI.

3. What work under the PSBP has already been awarded?

Seventeen batches of directly funded schools have already been awarded to contractors, and two batches of PF2 funded schools.

4. Who has won the most work on the batches so far?

The firms which have been appointed to capital funded batches are:

Kier 鈥� four batches totalling 拢197m

• South 拢30m
• East 2 拢60m
• North-east 2 拢63m
• Nottinghamshire 拢44m

Wates 鈥� three batches, 拢108m

• Midlands 1 - 拢38m
• East - 拢33m
• North-west 4 - 拢37m

Bam Construction 鈥� two batches, totalling 拢57m

• London 拢29m (batch originally worth 拢75m but five schools worth 拢46m taken back for reprocurement by EFA)
• Midlands 2 拢28m

Interserve 鈥� two batches totalling 拢87m

• North-west 3 - 拢48m
• Midlands 3 - 拢39m

Bowmer & Kirkland 鈥� two batches, 拢64m

• Derby 拢28m
• East Midlands 拢36m

Sir Robert McAlpine 鈥� one batch, 拢57m

• North-east 1, 拢57m

Carillion 鈥� one batch, 拢47m

• North-west 1, 拢47m

Willmott Dixon 鈥� one batch, 拢21m

• North-west 2, 拢21m

Meanwhile, Interserve and Kajima have been awarded the Hertfordshire, Luton and Reading batch of PF2 schools, worth approximately 拢150m, and Miller has won the north east batch, worth approximately 拢120m.

5. What capital funded batches are still to come to market in the first wave?

Three batches 鈥� London 2 (formed of the five schools taken back from the first London batch by the EFA), Brent, and Barking, Dagenham and Newham - are currently being bid by contractors on the EFA framework.

A further eleven capital-funded batches are expected to come to market to the framework contractors this year, which would cover all of the remaining schools included in the original PSPB list that have not so far been procured.

The expected batches, together with approximate expected values, are:

• Camden                       拢40m
• Lambeth                      拢38m
• Waltham Forest          拢50m
• Richmond and Surrey 拢32m
• Kent east                    拢35m
• Kent west                   拢25m
• Hillingdon                   拢60m
• Harrow                        拢39m
• Devon                         拢41m
• South 2                        拢45m
• Isle of Wight               拢52m

6. What are the timeframes for wave 2 of the programme?

The system for local authorities and other school stakeholders to submit expressions of interest in the programme expected to go live imminently. The deadline for expressions of interest is 18 July. Funding for the projects will be made available from 2015, with the spending due to run until 2021.

7. How likely is it that wave 2 of the programme will go ahead if there is a change of government?

Although there will be a general election before the projects in wave 2 of the programme have been built, it is polictically unlikely that a future government would cancel projects where funding has already been committed. Although this obviously did happen with the coalition鈥檚 cancellation of the 拢55bn BSF programme, the PSBP is on a much smaller scale, and this combined with the necessity of upgrading the school estate means it is likely schemes with allocated funding will be allowed to proceed. In addition, shadow chancellor Ed Balls has said that spending plans made by the current government for 2015-16 would be honoured by Labour should they win the election.

8. How will schools be selected for wave 2 of the programme?

Schools which apply for the PSBP funding will be prioritised for inclusion according to their building condition. The decision process will be informed by the EFA鈥檚 property data survey of building condition, which is due to report this summer, although the EFA has also asked bidding schools to include information about their building condition. Projects may cover whole schools or individual buildings. The EFA has said it does not anticipating funding schools which have already received significant investment. The EFA has also said schools may be able to combine PSBP funding with basic need funding if they need to expand and address condition, potentially resulting in larger projects being procured.

9. How will wave 2 of the programme be procured?

The schools in wave 2 are all expected to be capital funded, and procured in batches. It is expected that they will virtually all be procured through the EFA鈥檚 contractor framework, although the EFA has said in its guidance notes to authorities applying for inclusion that it may consider local procurement in some circumstances.

10. Will wave 2 of the programme be expected to follow similar standardised design processes to the first?

Yes. The EFA explicitly states in its guidance notes to authorities interested in bidding for funding that 鈥渂aseline designs have been developed by the EFA and have been successfully used as part of the original Priority School 黑洞社区 Programme and the intention is to continue with these for the new phase鈥�.