More than 1.5 million children in England are studying in deteriorating school buildings, a media investigation has revealed, highlighting years of neglect and underinvestment in public infrastructure.
The study, which examined the conditions of public sector buildings such as schools, hospitals, and courts, uncovered thousands requiring urgent repairs. In some cases, the state of disrepair poses significant safety risks. For instance, a school in Cumbria was evacuated after inspectors warned that its floor was at risk of imminent collapse, while a hospital in Sutton had windows held in place with masking tape and mud seeping through the floor.
The investigation, which compiled data from multiple government departments for the first time, has sparked urgent calls for increased funding to address the crumbling infrastructure. Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the public accounts committee, criticized the government’s lack of foresight, describing the dire state of public buildings as a growing crisis. “Some hospitals require props to hold up floors that can’t even bear the weight of patients,” he said, emphasizing that neglecting maintenance leads to spiraling costs and serious consequences.
The government has partly blamed the previous administration for years of underinvestment but acknowledged the urgency of the situation. A spokesperson stated, “We are taking immediate action to address the state of disrepair in public buildings that has been overlooked for years.” However, experts argue that poor project management and misallocation of funds have also contributed to the crisis.
Nick Davies of the Institute for Government noted that deep budget cuts in the 2010s exacerbated long-standing issues of underinvestment. “Departments often underspend their allocated budgets, divert funds to cover shortfalls in daily operations, and rush expenditures at the end of fiscal years, leading to record maintenance backlogs and unmodernized facilities,” he said.
Key findings from the investigation include:
- Schools: One in six children are enrolled in schools requiring significant repairs, with nearly half of these schools deemed unsafe or aging. The Midlands fared the worst, with 30% of schools found to be in critical condition. The government’s school rebuilding program, launched in 2022, has struggled to meet its target, completing only 24 of the planned 50 school projects by September.
- Hospitals: A third of NHS sites require urgent repairs to prevent disruptions to clinical services, injuries, or regulatory action. High-risk issues, which pose immediate dangers, account for nearly £3 billion of the NHS’s £13.8 billion repair backlog—a figure that has tripled since 2012-13.
The findings also suggest that recent issues, such as those related to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which forced over 100 school closures last year, are part of a much larger problem.
Despite government schemes to address these challenges, progress remains slow, leaving frontline staff and the public to bear the brunt of unsafe and outdated facilities. The report calls for a comprehensive approach to overhaul England’s public infrastructure, ensuring safety and efficiency for years to come.
