AMA Research have published the 3rd Edition of its overview of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future Programme - UK 2009-2023. This report reviews the structure of the programme assessing budgets, timescales and key consortia members, identifying opportunities for contractors and material suppliers in this £50+ billion sector.

Key areas in the report:

• Background to the BSF Programme, revised construction targets and plans for work under Waves 7-15
• In-depth analysis of education funding and capital expenditure in the UK, with forecast investment levels up to 2011.
• Overview of education construction sector in the UK with Government targets and progress to date, including major education construction programmes such as BSF, Academies
• Framework and the Primary Capital Programme.
• Impact of the economic downturn on BSF projects.

• Total capital cost of the BSF Programme now estimated at £52 -55 billion.
• Specification and procurement of BSF work and analysis of role of ‘Smart PFI’ and levels of private finance in the Programme.
• Analysis of the progress of BSF since the last edition of this Report and the reasons behind delays on the Programme.
• Key influences on BSF Programme - sustainability, the new minimum design standard for BSF schools, contribution of BSF projects towards local regeneration.
• Assesses the impact of the BSF programme on the UK construction industry with analysis of the key contractors, consultants and suppliers bidding for work.
• Impact of recession in 2009 - PFI funding, rising debt, threats to programme.
• Some of the companies and consortia included:
• Balfour Beatty, BAM (HBG), BDP, Bouygues UK, Bovis Lend Lease, Bowmer & Kirkland, Capita Symonds Group, Carillion, Catalyst Education, Concentra, Costain Group Plc, Environments for Learning (E4L), Equitix, Ferrovial Agroman, Fsquared Ltd, Galliford Try, GF Tomlinson, Inspired Spaces, Interserve Project Services Investors in the Community Consortium, Kier Investments, Laing O'Rourke, Land Securities Trillium Consortium, Learning21, Mitie, Nord Anglia Education Plc Pyramid Schools Consortium, Skanska, Somerset Learning Partnership, Transform Schools Consortium, VT Group Plc, Willmott Dixon.

• EDUCATION SPENDING AND CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT
• Value of total education spending in the UK, with forecasts to 2011
• Overview of DCSF spending and early release of funds announced in March 2009
• Overview of education capital investment to 2011
• Analysis of construction output in the education sector, with Government targets and progress to date
• Review of major construction programmes in the UK education sector, including BSF, the Academies Programme and the Primary Capital Programme
• OVERVIEW OF THE BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE PROGRAMME
• Overview and background to BSF
• Review of financial allocations under the BSF Programme to 2011 and anticipated future costs - now estimated at over £50 billion
• Overview of financial investment under BSF and indicative conventional costs and PFI credit allocations for each project in the first 5 waves of BSF
• Detailed assessment of the workings of BSF and the structure and responsibilities of BSF partners
• Analysis of procurement stages in BSF and average time taken by each BSF project in waves 1-5 to reach each stage
• Analysis of progress under Waves 1-6 of BSF and a review of Wave 7 and beyond - key schemes, players etc
• Projections for the number of schools open to 2014 under Waves 1-15 of BSF
• Government targets and current status of BSF Programme - projections up to 2023
• Overview of Academies Programme and Primary Capital Programme including current status, investment levels, consortia involved and procurement
• FACTORS AFFECTING BSF PROGRAMME
• Procurement and specification processes for BSF work
• Use of PFI in BSF work and procurement problems experienced so far under the Programme
• Environmental issues -  sustainable construction, BREEAM Schools, the new minimum design standard for BSF schools, and the contribution of BSF projects towards local regeneration
• Analysis of the use of prefabricated building techniques under the BSF Programme.
•  CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY INVOLVEMENT IN THE BSF PROGRAMME
• Analysis of the key consortia currently bidding for work under the BSF Programme together with their constituent contractors, consultants, education specialists and suppliers.
• Overview of companies involved as Framework Consultants under BSF.
• In-depth analysis of the key contractors bidding for BSF work, key consortia, members, new entrants, opportunities in future.

Education is one of the Government’s priority areas for spending and there has been a considerable increase over the last 5 years. Total UK education spending for all sectors currently stands at around £81.8 billion in 2008-09 and is forecast to rise to around £92 billion in 2010-11 (of which around £75 billion will be in England).

The chart illustrates the value of total UK education expenditure between 2003-4 and 2010-11:

Expenditure plans for the period 2008-11 were first announced in the 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review. The revised spending levels for these years now include training under ‘total education spending’.

Initial projections based upon the figures announced in the 2007 CSR indicate that education spending will continue to rise at a rate of around 5% beyond 2008, although these figures may be subject to change over the next couple of years. This would bring the value of total UK education expenditure to over £92 billion by 2010. Spending on education and training is expected to continue its recent upward growth to 2011 and see a relatively sharp increase in spending as a proportion of GDP to around 6% in 2009-10.

School buildings and infrastructure continues to be the major focus of the DCSF investment strategy, with total support for investment in school buildings, facilities and ICT rising from £5.9 billion in 2006-07 to £6.7 billion in 2007-08, and planned to rise to £7.3 billion by 2011 (including £1.32 billion PFI credits).

The Government is investing £21.9 billion of capital into the school estate between 2008 and 2011 including buildings and ICT allocated to the DCSF as part of the comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) 2007.Over the last 12 years, capital expenditure on school buildings alone has risen from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £6.7 billion in 2008-09 and will rise to over £7.3 billion in 2010-11.

Many schools, however, are preparing for cuts to public spending beyond 2011 amid warnings that the government's bail-out of the banks will severely compromise the financing of health and education services for years to come. The Treasury said it was still committed to the 1.2% increase in spending from 2011 promised in the Pre-budget Report, but the Conservatives say they would reduce public spending from 2010 to avoid tax rises if they win a general election and capital spending in the education sector would be a likely target for cuts.

In a report on the finances of the DCSF, the CSF select committee has warned that the economic downturn might disrupt the government’s spending plans for schools and colleges and has predicted that growth in the next Spending Review beyond 2011 would be minimal ‘at best’, while the slowing economy could prevent private sector investors from entering into Private Finance Initiative partnerships to fund new capital projects.

Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Programme is the largest single capital investment programme in schools in England in 50 years. It is aimed at rebuilding and renewing all of England’s 3,500 state secondary schools - a programme worth an estimated £45bn. BSF is also intended to have a wider effect on teaching and learning as a whole and engage both students and their local communities in new or refurbished school buildings with new technologies.

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