The £500 million government fund to “future-proof” school buildings by making them more energy efficient has been “repurposed” from an underspend in capital cash.
Ministers this week announced the money to help schools and colleges save on heating and electricity bills.
Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, said they were “putting this cash in the hands of school and college leaders quickly, so they can decide what is needed and so that our brilliant teachers can focus on teaching in a warm and safe environment”.
The Department for Education told Schools Week the funding was not new money but came from capital programme underspends this financial year.
The money was being “repurposed”, but “existing programmes will continue unchanged”.
A spokesperson said the capital budget – £6.4 billion for 2022-23 – was “managed carefully through the year” so that any underspends “can be reprioritised to get the best value for money”.
