Town's MP meets Minister over 'unfair' funding shortfalls for Harrogate schools maintenance problems

Tom Gordon’s meeting with Stephen Morgan, Minister for Early Education, followed visits he had undertaken to schools across Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The Lib Dem MP said one consistent theme had emerged: headteachers in his area were increasingly worried about the lack of funding available for essential maintenance and capital works.

During the meeting, Mr Gordon shared the example of one local school facing major challenges with outdated infrastructure, including boilers, heating systems, insulation, windows, roofs, and rainwater goods.

The school’s main boiler, he told the Minister, was operating 30 years beyond its intended lifespan, and the hot water boiler was ten years overdue for replacement.

If either system were to fail, the school would be forced to carry out urgent repairs, with money it didn’t have.

The Lib Dem MP also shared with the Minister that another school in his constituency estimates it needs £8.2 million over the next five years just for essential maintenance.

However, it currently receives only £900,000 per year, less than half of what is needed to keep the buildings safe, dry, and heated.

Mr Gordon said: “I have seen the scale of the problem when visiting schools across my constituency.

"Schools are being expected to do the impossible – to keep buildings safe and warm with budgets that don’t even cover the basics.”

The Harrogate and Knaresborough MP believes a major problem is the weakness of the current school capital funding model.

Under the present system, funding allocations do not take into account the age or type of buildings, meaning that modern schools and centuries-old buildings receive the same amount.

Mr Gordon stressed to the Minister that this unfairly disadvantages older schools, many of which require much greater investment.

"I will continue to fight for a fairer funding model that recognises the real maintenance needs of our schools, particularly older buildings," he said.

"No child should have to learn in a building that is cold, leaking or unsafe.”