Colleges will receive £200 million in capital funding for repairs and upgrades this year, the government has said. 

Prime minister Boris Johnson will tomorrow pledge the funds as he announces a ten-year rebuilding programme for schools worth over £1 billion.

The £200m for FE colleges brings forward plans for £1.5bn of investment over five years announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak in the spring budget. It will allow institutions to undertake immediate remedial work in this financial year to upgrade the condition of their buildings and estates, said the government.

It added this “fast-tracked activity” would support wider plans to protect jobs and incomes and drive forward the country’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

It has also been announced that a competition will be launched later this year for the £120 million in funding to support eight more Institutes of Technology promised by education secretary Gavin Williamson last year.

The institutes bring together FE institutions, universities and employers to deliver technical training at level 4 and 5.

More: Capital and National Skills funding confirmed

News: AoC calls on Treasury to invest £3.6 billion in skills

Background: '£1bn catch-up plan shows FE is an afterthought'

'Fit for the future'

Mr Johnson said as the UK bounced back from the coronavirus pandemic, it was important to “lay the foundations for a country where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, with our younger generations front and centre of this mission”. 

He added: “This major new investment will make sure our schools and colleges are fit for the future, with better facilities and brand new buildings so that every child gets a world-class education.”

Apprenticeships and skills minister Gillian Keegan said the investment was “fantastic news for colleges and means they can kick start work to refurbish their facilities and equipment from as early as this September”.

She added: “The FE sector will play a pivotal role in our economic recovery post-Covid-19, ensuring more people can gain the skills they need to get ahead. This is just the start of work to transform the FE sector including making sure students have access to high quality, fit for purpose facilities and are great places to learn. We will set out further details of how this funding will be allocated in due course.”

Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said the funding announcement was “a good first step" by the government to support colleges to be central players in the country’s recovery. “After being excluded from the catch-up funding, colleges needed some good news this week to boost morale,” he said. 

“This capital resource, for bringing building and digital infrastructure up to date, was an important part of Rebuild: a skills led recovery plan, which we published earlier this month.

"I hope today’s announcement will be followed quickly by a package of investment for colleges to be able to help more people get the skills they need to find work, and for the construction, engineering employers to get the skilled people they will need to deliver the infrastructure.

“We would like to see an apprenticeship target for every contractor winning any of the government’s contracts under their infrastructure fiscal stimulus. That would help young people get the best start in life and extend further the impact of the investment. 

"For colleges, they will be desperate to have the resources quickly, so I hope this is delivered through a simple formula which grants the money with minimum bureaucracy. That way, colleges can invest in the repairs, adaptations, equipment and crucially the digital infrastructure they need to provide a great learning experience from September.”

Mr Hughes said the overall package of £1.5bn committed in the March budget would only be sufficient if colleges are financially healthy enough to secure commercial borrowing to extend the fund, “and that is in doubt unless further revenue investment comes very soon”. 

“Overall this is a very welcome announcement which will show college leaders that they are viewed by the government as a vital part of the recovery effort. They want to be, and can be with the right investment.”