Supplementary memorandum submitted by
West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service
Further to our meeting in May and the written
evidence we have submitted to the Education and Skills Select
Committee inquiry into Sustainable Schools, some additional information
has come to our attention.
I understand that Partnership for Schools, the
Government's national agency for the Building Schools for the
Future (BSF) programme, has informed schools in the West Midlands
that BSF funding cannot be used to meet the cost of sprinkler
systems. We are aware that several schools were intending to incorporate
sprinkler systems into new and remodeled school buildings. We
are concerned that this decision may discourage them from doing
so.
What is more, this advice would seem to run
counter to departmental efforts to help schools reduce their insurance
costs. Many insurance companies offer up to 65% reductions in
insurance premiums for schools where sprinklers are installed,
and will remove the compulsory excess, which can be as high as
£100,000. There are clearly significant savings to be made
if schools are fitted with sprinkler systems.
You may also be aware that the situation is
markedly different in Wales. The National Assembly has permitted
local authorities to use their building budgets to pay for installation
of sprinkler systems in schools, and indeed encouraged them to
do so.
As we discussed previously, a sine qua non
of Sustainable Schools must be their ability to survive physical
external threats such as fire. The installation of sprinkler systems
is the most cost effective way of achieving this and yet, instead
of making sprinkler systems mandatory in schools, the Government
is effectively hindering schools which seek to install them.
November 2006
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