To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the physical condition of accommodation of schools in North Belfast. [123957]
The Chief Executive of the Belfast Education and Library Board has advised that physical condition surveys of all controlled and maintained schools in the Belfast Board area, including those located in North Belfast, have been completed in the previous four years. These surveys detail the condition of the schools throughout the estate and provide the basis for the Board's annual maintenance programme. Each year the Board carries out re-surveys of 25 per cent. of the schools' estate.In addition, under the Department's annual capital allocation process, school authorities are responsible for identifying schools requiring major capital investment. The Department is currently in the process of updating the list of schools that it has accepted as requiring such major works with the aim of publishing the list on its website at the end of July 2003. There are currently six major works schemes underway at schools in the North Belfast area.