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National Audit Office issues stark warning over £13.8bn schools maintenance backlog

The maintenance backlog for public buildings across England is at least £49bn, with school buildings making up almost £14bn of this figure.
Maintenance backlog: Department for Education capital spending declined by around 37% in cash terms and 50% in real terms between 2009/10 and 2021/22 - Adobe Stock

A report from the National Audit Office warns that the true cost of full remediation for all public buildings is unknown because government data on the condition of its properties is “incomplete and out-of-date”.

The NAO says that 88% of the total maintenance backlog is made up by Ministry of Defence properties, NHS properties, and school buildings.

A maintenance backlog is the value of work that has not been done when maintaining property, including the cost of works that should have already taken place.

Maintenance can cover all manner of work, including repairing and replacing walls, roofs, windows, electrics, water, heating and so on. Remediation refers to the real cost of repairs to improve property condition, rather than simply maintaining it.

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