Boris Johnson pledges £2billion to rebuild Britain's crumbling schools - Daily Mail

Boris Johnson pledges £2billion to rebuild Britain's crumbling schools and make them 'fit for the future'

• A ten-year strategy will be launched with £1bn to rebuild 50 schools across UK 
• Further £560m has been released to fund programme of refurbishment in 2020
• And £200m spending has been brought forward to fund repairs at colleges
  

By Jason Groves Deputy Political Editor For The Daily Mail

Published: 22:37 BST, 28 June 2020 | Updated: 00:37 BST, 29 June 2020

Boris Johnson will today pledge to rebuild Britain's crumbling schools and colleges as he prepares to offer an 'opportunity guarantee' to young people.

The Prime Minister will unveil a £1.8billion package to rebuild and refurbish dozens of schools and colleges across England.

Education will also form a central message in a major speech tomorrow in which Mr Johnson will relaunch the Tories' 'levelling-up' agenda.

Yesterday he confirmed that attendance at schools will become mandatory again in September for the first time since mid-March when they were shut to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Today he will unveil the biggest school improvement plan in years.

The Prime Minister will unveil a £1.8billion package to rebuild and refurbish dozens of schools and colleges across England. Education will also form a central message in a major speech tomorrow in which Mr Johnson will relaunch the Tories' 'levelling-up' agenda (pictured: Mr Johnson visits Bovingdon Primary Academy in Hemel Hempstead earlier this month)

A ten-year strategy will be launched with £1billion to fund a 'first wave' designed to rebuild 50 schools across the country.

A further £560million has been released to fund a programme of refurbishment this year, taking total spending on repairs in 2020 to almost £2billion.

And £200million spending has been brought forward to fund repairs at further education colleges.

Mr Johnson last night said the new strategy would ensure schools and colleges are 'fit for the future'.

He added: 'All children deserve the best possible start in life – regardless of their background or where they live. As we bounce back from the pandemic, it's important we lay the foundations for a country where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, with our younger generations front and centre of this mission.'

Sources said a significant portion of the new funding would be targeted at the North and Midlands.

A handout image released by 10 Downing Street, shows Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson joining pupils during a socially distanced visit to Bovingdon Primary School in Bovingdon, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire on June 19, 2020

The decision to launch a new school building programme is part of a wider strategy to fast-track investment in infrastructure to help the UK claw its way out of the recession caused by lockdown.

In tomorrow's speech, Mr Johnson will pledge to invest billions in new hospitals, roads, rail schemes, cycleways and broadband. A new taskforce dubbed Project Speed will try to accelerate the process.

Mr Johnson will promise not to repeat the austerity that followed the 2008 global financial crash.

And he will pledge an 'opportunity guarantee' to the young Britons losing their jobs. Analysis suggests unemployment is set to return to levels not seen since the 1980s. 

Mr Johnson will pledge a new scheme to provide the guaranteed offer of an apprenticeship for all young people wanting one.

There will also be a focus on further education and adult education to help those who do not want to go to university and those who need to reskill after losing jobs. 

One Whitehall source said: 'Previous governments have talked a lot about the need to get more children into university. But 50 per cent of children don't go to university – we want to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure they get the best opportunities.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will confirm plans this week to get all children back to school in September

'It's not just education, education, education – it's further education, further education, further education.'

Mr Johnson yesterday acknowledged that coronavirus had caused a 'huge, huge shock' to the economy.

He told the Mail on Sunday: 'If Covid was a lightning flash, we're about to have the thunderclap of the economic consequences. We're going to be ready.'

He insisted: 'We are absolutely not going back to the austerity of ten years ago.'

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will confirm plans this week to get all children back to school in September.

The Prime Minister yesterday stressed: 'We need to get the kids back into school.'

Asked if it would be compulsory, he added: 'Yes, it's the law.' 

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2020-06-29 06:36:27Z
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