Tom Gordon MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough has raised urgent concerns about funding for school maintenance and rebuilding projects.
Tom met with Stephen Morgan, Minister for Early Education, following a series of visits to schools across the Harrogate district.
He said a “consistent theme emerged”, with headteachers increasingly worried about the lack of funding available for essential maintenance and capital works.
In response to these concerns, Tom requested a meeting with the Minister to discuss the issue in more detail.
During the meeting, Tom outlined the serious consequences of chronic underfunding, drawing on what he had seen and been told during his visits to local schools.
He shared the example of one local school facing major challenges with outdated infrastructure – including boilers, heating systems, insulation, windows, roofs, and rainwater goods.
In this case, the school’s main boiler is operating 30 years beyond its intended lifespan, and the hot water boiler is 10 years overdue for replacement.
If either system fails, the school would be forced to carry out urgent and expensive repairs, with money that they don’t have.
Tom also shared with the Minister that another school in his constituency estimates it needs £8.2 million over the next five years to just carry out essential maintenance.
However, it currently receives only £900,000 per year – less than half of what is needed to keep the buildings safe, dry, and heated.
Tom said:
“No child should have to learn in a building that is cold, leaking or unsafe – yet that is the reality facing too many schools today. The current funding system is failing them, and it must be urgently reconsidered.
“When visiting schools across my constituency, I have seen the scale of the problem. Schools are being expected to do the impossible – to keep buildings safe and warm with budgets that don’t even cover the basics.
“I will continue to fight for a fairer funding model that recognises the real maintenance needs of our schools, particularly older buildings that urgently require great investment. Our children deserve better.”
The second major concern Tom shared with Minister Morgan was the weakness of the current school capital funding model.
Under the present system, funding allocations do not take into account the age or type of buildings – meaning that modern schools and centuries-old buildings receive the same amount, despite vastly different maintenance needs.
Tom stressed that this approach unfairly disadvantages older schools, many of which require much greater investment to remain safe and functional.
He said he will continue to press the Government to “do the right thing” and ensure that schools receive the funding they deserve.
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