PRIORITY SCHOOLS BUILDING PROGRAMME (PSBP)

The Priority Schools Building Programme is a programme to rebuild 261 of England's schools in the worst condition. The Education Funding Agency (EfA), part of the UK Department for Education (DfE), is responsible for its delivery and has chosen to finance 46 of these schools with limited recourse Project Finance, split into five batches. The remaining schools will be financed through direct capital grant and are not covered by this operation. A single Board approval will be sought for all five batches based on high level due diligence, with more specific detailed due diligence to be undertaken for every single batch as the programme progresses through procurement.

The investment will deliver significant educational benefits as well as improve quality and efficiency of the schools. The project is consistent with the EU actions aimed at increasing access to lifelong learning, the quality of education, and the formation of human capital for employment and social inclusion.

Schools are not specifically mentioned in the EIA Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment, though the project can be covered by Annex II of the Directive in relation to urban development. The Bank’s services will verify during appraisal the EIA screening decision taken by the Competent Authority.

The promoter is required to respect national and European procurement legislation. The Bank requires the promoter to ensure that all relevant contracts for the implementation of the project have been or will be tendered in accordance with relevant EU procurement legislation (Dir. 2004/18/EEC/ or 2004/17/EEC and Dir. 2007/66/EC), with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where appropriate.