Below a summary of the key points from the audit report on Managing the Schools’ Estate in Northern Ireland:

Key Findings from the 2024 Audit Report

The Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) has released a comprehensive report examining how the Department of Education manages its £4.6 billion schools estate, which comprises over 1,100 schools serving 350,000 pupils. Here are the key findings:

Strategic Management Concerns

• The Department lacks a strategic estate management approach and relies instead on reactive responses to issues
• There is no comprehensive estate management strategy or long-term maintenance plan
• Poor data quality and management systems hamper effective decision-making
• The Department cannot accurately assess the overall condition of the school estate

Funding and Maintenance Challenges

• The maintenance backlog has grown by 50% since 2017-18 to an estimated £450 million
• The 2023-24 maintenance budget of £26.7 million is insufficient to meet needs
• Only the most urgent repairs and statutory compliance work can be undertaken
• There is no program of planned preventative maintenance

Capital Projects Issues

• Major capital projects take 6-10+ years to complete
• Completing currently approved projects would cost £3.239 billion and take 30+ years at current funding levels
• Only the most critical minor works are being progressed
• Project delays lead to further deterioration and increased maintenance needs

Emerging Challenges

• No schools meet net zero carbon standards; retrofitting estimated to cost £2+ billion
• First PPP/PFI contracts expire soon, bringing additional maintenance responsibilities
• RAAC concrete issues required urgent surveys costing £1.2 million

Recommendations
The report makes nine key recommendations, including:

• Adopting a strategic approach to estate management
• Improving data quality and management systems
• Establishing effective maintenance plans
• Better contract management
• Addressing maintenance backlogs
• Preparing for PPP/PFI contract expiry
• Developing net zero carbon plans

The NIAO concludes that current approaches are not providing value for money and that significant improvements are needed in how Northern Ireland’s school estate is managed and maintained.

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The most damning critical findings from the audit report are:

1. Complete Lack of Strategic Control

• The Department is essentially “firefighting” to keep schools open and safe, rather than managing the estate strategically
• There is no designated group or person responsible for coordinating estate-wide activities
• The Department cannot even provide basic information about the estate’s characteristics like size, age, condition and suitability

1. Alarming Data Deficiencies

• The Department doesn’t know the true condition of its £4.6 billion estate
• It lacks reliable data to make informed decisions about a massive public asset
• The Department didn’t have a rolling program of condition surveys until 2023-24, meaning it has been operating blindly
• Even the £450 million maintenance backlog figure isn’t reliable – it’s based on outdated and incomplete data

1. Critical Safety and Compliance Issues

• The Health & Safety Executive (HSENI) has raised concerns that not enough is being done to mitigate ongoing risks
• The Department is failing to meet its statutory obligations regarding building safety
• The Department was slow to react to the RAAC concrete crisis despite warnings from other UK bodies

1. Severe System Inefficiencies

• Major capital projects take an “unacceptable” 6-10+ years to complete
• At current funding levels, it would take 30+ years to complete already approved projects
• None of the 72 School Enhancement Programme projects approved in 2017 have been completed
• Of 6,100 minor works applications received in 2017, only 550 were addressed before the system was abandoned

1. Financial Mismanagement

• The maintenance approach is providing “poor value for money”
• PPP/PFI contracts will cost £1.54 billion for just 20 schools
• Schools’ delegated budgets included £77 million for estate-related funding, but only £5 million was actually spent on maintenance
• The Department has no estimate of how much funding is needed for critical minor works

1. Leadership Failures

• Past attempts at transformation have failed to change the system
• The Department acknowledges its current approach is “unsustainable” but continues with it
• There’s no clear vision for the future size of or investment in the estate
• The Department lacks the strategic capability to manage such a valuable public asset

These findings suggest systemic failures in leadership, strategic planning, and basic asset management of a critical public service infrastructure worth billions of pounds. The report indicates a concerning pattern of reactive management rather than proactive stewardship of vital educational facilities.

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