Colleges have warned they may not have enough time to utilise the capital funds allocated to them by the deadline set by the government.

In August, the Department for Education published the list of 186 institutions that would share the £200 million capital allocation announced by prime minister Boris Johnson in June. Individual allocations to colleges, paid last month, ranged from over £4.5 million to £7,649 - and the government’s deadline for this to be used is 31 March 2021. A first monitoring form is due later this month.

Liz Bromley, chief executive of NCG - the group that received the largest allocation - said she warmly welcomed the release of this much-needed funding to improve NCG’s learning environments.

She said: “Given the extent of some of the works that we need - and would very much like - to undertake, we wouldn’t even get through the procurement process by March of next year, let alone have completed the work.

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“This means that we are bringing forward any and all work that can be completed - whether normally it would be prioritised or not - because we are being driven by the funding timetable rather than strategic imperatives.”

Ms Bromley added she hoped the government’s upcoming FE White Paper would enable colleges to “pause and reflect on how we spend our limited resources so that we can improve our students’ experience, the equality of their learning opportunities and create learning environments that will be fit for a new world post-pandemic, rather than rushing headlong to the pot when money comes in”.

EKC Group received £2.2 million in capital funding. Covid restrictions are making spending this funding in time even harder, said chief executive Graham Razey. Projects now had to focus on buildings where there are few or no students, work that can be done at evenings and weekends and in the limited time where teaching stops for half term.

He added: “This is making it extremely challenging but on balance, we would prefer that to not having the money. As a large group, we do have the infrastructure to mobilise it but it isn’t without challenge. I would fear for the smaller organisations who probably don’t have the capacity.”

‘Extremely challenging’

Shelagh Legrave chief executive of Chichester College Group, which received just over £2 million, agreed the allocation had been “hugely welcomed”.

She said: “However being asked to spend it in seven months is extremely challenging. We hope to achieve the best value we can from the funding and that we are given a little more time if there is to be a further allocation.”

Scape is a public sector procurement authority which helps schools and colleges deliver built environment projects. Chief executive Mark Robinson said colleges were seeking out its advice as to how they could spend the money most effectively and how they could bring quality contractors on-board quickly.

“This is a relatively short window to deliver projects; particularly if colleges are intending to engage in a competitive procurement process,” he explained. “We want to give them the support to invest the funding well and, where possible, help them access the right delivery partners via an accelerated procurement route to make the most of the time they have available.

“The government’s intention is for the money to fund refurbishment rather than major new-build projects. However, colleges should still be prepared to deal with the array of unexpected challenges, such as asbestos, which inevitably create delays. Applied appropriately though, with the right expertise ready to go, colleges should be able to use the money to improve outdated facilities and, in many instances, create better environments for delivering Covid-secure learning.”

A spokesperson for the DfE said: “This funding is has been brought forward to support colleges to undertake immediate remedial work in this financial year to upgrade the condition of their buildings and estates so that they are great places to learn. The funding can be used for works eligible, under the project-specific conditions of the grant, undertaken between 29 June 2020 and 31 March 2021.

“However, we recognise that there may be some exceptional circumstances where this deadline cannot be reasonably met. If a college believes it needs more time to make effective use of their funds, we would encourage them to contact their DfE grant manager at the time of the return of the first monitoring form.”