ABOUT £51m is being pumped into the North Yorkshire County Council education budget to improve school buildings.

But it has been admitted that while this money from the Government is welcome, it will still not be enough to cover all the maintenance work required.

The money is being spread out over the next three years. The cash has come through a number of Government allocations for maintenance, improvements and new build.

North Yorkshire’s capital allocation for maintenance and improvements this year amounts to £13.2m to £2m more than last year. Including the money that is devolved directly to schools, this figure amounts to just over £17m, with a similar indicative amount for the following two years.

The authority has also received additional capital funding of nearly £600,000 to support the delivery of universal infant free school meals. The council was also allocated a further £1m for the provision of additional school places in 2017/18 supporting an allocation of £40m announced last year.

“North Yorkshire is responsible for some 350 schools, many of them small and with aging buildings,” said County Councillor Arthur Barker, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Schools. “Overall we are very pleased to get this additional funding for maintaining and improving the physical condition of our schools.

“We have a rising backlog of building maintenance and this funding is not going to address all of that but it will go a long way to helping our schools continue to be fit for purpose to deliver a 21st century school curriculum.”