25 August 2010
School buildings in Northern Ireland are vastly underfunded, despite a £353m underspend by the Departmentfor Education, auditors have found.
A report by the Audit Office, released today, found the underinvestment had led to a £292m maintenance backlog. It revealed the DfE had spent only £857m out of the £1.2bn pot available for capital projects in the five years to March 2010..
The report, School design and delivery, states that buildings are ‘not ideally suited to deliver the current curriculum’, warning that ‘poor design can be an obstacle to raising educational standards’. Building improvements are being constrained by delays in completing projects, it adds.
But the design quality of recently built and refurbished schools has improved. Kieran Donnelly, comptroller and auditor general for Northern Ireland, said: ‘There is clear evidence… that concerns expressed about design quality in my 2004 report are being addressed by the Department of Education.’
The Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland2008–2018 envisages a £3.4bn investment in the schools estate, the auditors say. This is a significant increase from the £416m spent in the three years to March 2008.
A spokeswoman for the department said it is giving ‘careful consideration’ to the findings, but ‘it would be inappropriate to make any comment in advance of any potential Public Accounts Committee hearing’.