Question reference: S6W-14441
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 27 January 2023
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 February 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it collects on whether new schools in Scotland meet the standards set out in the (a) UK Government document, Building Bulletin 93: Acoustic design of schools: performance standards, and (b) Scottish Government guidance, School design: optimising the internal environment: building our future: Scotland's school estate.
Answer
It is the statutory responsibility of all local authorities to manage and maintain their school estate, therefore, we do not routinely collect this information.
Information is however gathered via a Post-Occupancy Evaluation of each school constructed or refurbished through the £1.8bn Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme, and this is a requirement of funding to ensure that lessons learned help inform future investment. A review of this feedback is currently being undertaken and will distil findings by summer 2023 to help identify any actions needed to review guidance or develop new methods for sharing best practice.
In addition, an ongoing series of shared learning events which will are open to all local authorities has also been established as a forum to work collaboratively. These will occur quarterly and include the annual Learning Places Scotland Conference in November.
We understand that BB93 is in the process of being updated and will review the new version when available. Implications arising from this will be assessed and considered for adoption within projects supported through the Learning Estate Investment Programme.