Responding to the government's move to cut 1% from Department for Education capital spending budget for the four years from 2026/27 to help fund the increase in defence spending, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT:

“At a time when we were already calling for the government to go further and faster in improving the condition of the school estate, news of this cut will be a real concern to school leaders.

“From leaking roofs to damp and ageing boilers, many school buildings are simply not fit for purpose. With the best will in the world, these kind of conditions inevitably harm the ability of staff to teach and children to learn, and we saw last week how schools need fresh investment to better cope with extremes of temperature brought on by climate change.

“While we don’t yet know what the impact of this cut to DfE capital spending will be, schools represent a big proportion of the education estate. They can ill-afford to see existing funding pledges watered down when the National Audit Office has estimated it would cost £13.8bn just to restore school buildings in England to at least a satisfactory condition.

“Children’s education should not be sacrificed to fund spending commitments elsewhere, however important they may be.”

51% of NAHT members in England who took part in a capital funding survey in February said they had buildings or areas that were out of use or not fit for purpose. 96% said they did not receive sufficient funding to maintain their school’s buildings and estate.