DfE deploys surveyors and planes to assess every college campus

Condition data will be used to determine future capital budgets

Condition data will be used to determine future capital budgets

10 Oct 2024, 17:01

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Government-deployed surveyors will visit every further education college in England next year to gather evidence for future capital spending on buildings.

Between March and September 2025, surveyors will visit 381college campuses collecting data about the condition of their site for the FE condition data collection (CDC2) exercise, which last took place in 2019.

College rooftops will be photographed by planes, according to Department for Education guidance, followed by data collection visits by fabric surveyors and mechanical and electrical engineers. 

DfE said one of several benefits to FE colleges will be to “provide a view of roof condition which is not normally seen” as well as “highlighting condition issues which need attention”.

One of three government-appointed surveying firms will conduct block-by-block assessments at each college collecting data on building conditions, asset management, asbestos and net zero emissions. Each “element” they assess will be graded A (good) to D (bad) for condition as well as a grade on priority for remedial action from 1 (immediate) to 4 (more than five years).

The visits have been designed to not replicate or replace colleges’ own condition surveys. They will only assess the visible condition of buildings rather than the structural issues and surveyors will only feed back on major health and safety concerns.

Colleges in scope include general further education colleges, land-based colleges and designated institutions. Sixth Form Colleges and University Technical Colleges are part of the sister scheme for schools. Specialist colleges are exempt as they are considered private sector institutions, as are independent training providers.

Alongside giving DfE an “improved understanding” of the condition of the college estate, colleges will receive “high-level” findings to “complement their own locally commissioned surveys”.

DfE also said CDC2 will “provide the evidence base to support future decision-making on capital funding”.

FE Week understands findings from the 2019 FE condition data collection helped make the case for the £1.5 billion capital spending commitment for colleges in the 2020 budget

More than 170 college leaders joined forces last week to lobby chancellor Rachel Reeves for capital investment to build facilities to accommodate rising numbers of 16-year-olds in her October 30 budget.

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