Paul Givan accuses UK Government of 'letting down schools' after funding for new buildings withdrawn

Northern Ireland’s education minister has accused the UK Government of “letting down” schools by withdrawing funding for new buildings.

Funds for new buildings at a number of integrated schools and shared education campuses were ringfenced in the Fresh Start Agreement in 2015.

Last week a Department of Education spokesperson said that £150million of that funding is now no longer available for the schools.

On Monday, Education Minister Paul Givan said the UK Government had put some of the Fresh Start funding into the financial settlement for the recently restored devolved government at Stormont.

Nine new build projects that are currently in a construction contract to be completed will continue.

In a letter to Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris, Mr Givan said 11 of the 28 Fresh Start projects, including nine integrated schools and two shared education campuses, are without funding to proceed to construction.

On Monday, Mr Givan told MLAs that 10 schools: Millennium Integrated Primary School; Forge Integrated Primary School; Bangor Central Integrated Primary School; Priory Integrated College; Fort Hill Integrated College and Primary School; Slemish Integrated College; Hazelwood Integrated College; Integrated College Dungannon; Drumragh Integrated College; and Brookeborough Shared Education Campus; will be placed within his department’s conventional major works programme to continue in planning

Mr Givan said he wrote to Mr Heaton-Harris to impress upon him the importance of the projects, and will also make a bid to the Executive for funding to complete the projects.

He said £150 million of funding previously earmarked for Fresh Start projects has been placed in the UK Government’s financial settlement for the Executive.

“In addition, construction costs for the Fresh Start projects have risen considerably in recent years. The remaining Fresh Start funding is therefore sufficient only to cover those projects currently in construction contract,” he told MLAs.

“To give clarity to the remaining Fresh Start projects not yet in contract, they will now be delivered within my department’s conventional major works programme and will continue to advance in design and planning.

“I hope this will provide reassurance to the schools on the immediate way forward.

“I have also written to the Secretary of State to set out the strategic importance of this programme for Northern Ireland and to seek additional capital funding for these projects.”

Mr Givan insisted he had highlighted the situation was a “real cause for concern” from his first day in office earlier this month, and that the treatment of the Fresh Start funding was flagged before devolved government was restored.

He went on: “I am clear and my actions are clear. I have moved these schools into the conventional programme rather than pausing, rather than cancelling them, not because I’ve let them down but because the Secretary of State and the UK Government has let them down.

“They’ve moved into the conventional programme, they’ll continue to be advanced and I am making the case to the Secretary of State for the funding to be provided.”

The Stormont minister has also said that Northern Ireland’s education budget needs another £1 billion.

Paul Givan outlined challenges to his department’s funds, including building projects and workers’ pay increases, saying it is “underfunded”.

Speaking in the Assembly on Monday, Mr Givan said his department’s budgetary position before the allocation of additional funding was £2.582 billion.

He said that while there were some further allocations as part of the financial package, including for pay awards for education workers, he said he would be asking for another £1 billion in the next budget.

“I have outlined even in this question time the vast pressures that sits within the Department of Education, and this is because of the needs within our constituencies that individuals have in order to get the support that they need,” he told MLAs.

“What I will be putting forward for the Finance Minister’s consideration, and ultimately the Executive, would be to increase the overall requirement of my department to £3.595 billion.

“That is a £1 billion uplift that my department needs to meet the objectives that we have.

“That will be going forward as part of the budgetary process for next year.”

Asked if he believes this bid will be supported by other ministers in the Executive, Mr Givan said it will be a challenge for the other parties.

“It certainly will put the challenge with Executive colleagues when it comes to the bid that I’ll be putting forward, if they’re able to match that ambition,” he said.

“But it also does put into stark focus why my party (DUP) leader (Sir Jeffrey Donaldson) at the time of these discussions with the government said it was not enough.

“Other parties said get the Executive back up and running, our position was constitutional, not based on financial considerations, but we did make it clear this would not be enough.”

Meanwhile, Mr Givan said he will be highlighting with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan later this week some of the challenges facing his department.

Mr Givan said he will also raise the Safeguarding the Union agreement between his party, the DUP, with the UK Government earlier this year.

“Within that, members will see when it comes to east/west relations, a focus on educational matters, and that is something that I will be pressing on the UK Secretary of State to develop with me so that we can deliver upon those commitments that the UK Government entered into,” he told MLAs.

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