(2) what recent discussions he has had with Birmingham city council on future Building Schools for the Future projects in Birmingham;
(3) how many schools in Birmingham are (a) being and (b) planned to be redeveloped as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme;
(4) how much funding he has allocated to Building Schools for the Future (BSF) projects in Birmingham for (a) active projects and (b) follow-on projects in each wave of that programme; and whether there has been any change to (i) agreed and (ii) projected funding arrangements for BSF projects in Birmingham.
Partnerships for Schools (PfS), as the delivery agent for Building Schools for the Future (BSF), is responsible for discussions with local authorities about prioritising and phasing of schools in the programme. Birmingham is in Waves 2 and 5 of the BSF programme and discussions with the city council have reached the following stages:
The Wave 2 Strategic Business Case and Outline Business Case (OBC) identify the prioritisation and phasing of schools in the first phase that are now either in construction or being developed.
The Wave 5 Strategy for Change and OBC, which will establish the prioritisation and phasing of the second phase, is currently being completed by the local authority.
PfS is currently evaluating the authority's Readiness to Deliver (RtD) proposal for Phase 3.
The local authority's Academy programme is in development.
10 schools are being redeveloped and 20 are planned to be redeveloped as part of the BSF programme.
When an OBC for a wave of a local authority's BSF project is agreed, the funding is fixed for the first group of prioritised schools in the wave. However, as each subsequent group of schools in the wave is brought forward the funding is adjusted for changes in construction inflation and location factors. As such, all funding after the first group of schools in the wave is indicative until the respective stage submission is approved. The current funding forecasts for Birmingham's BSF projects are as follows:
PFI credits Capital grant Funding status Active Wave 2 schools 78.77 18.33 Fixed Remaining Wave 2 schools 27 80 Indicative
Funding of circa £160 million of capital grant for eight academies is currently in the process of being approved. This funding is not included above.
Funding allocations for Wave 5 will be determined in its OBC. Allocations for the remaining schools within Birmingham will be agreed when the projects come into the programme. The authority has submitted RtD proposals for Phase 3 within the £100 million scope required by PfS.