Back in September, before his government’s first budget, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, addressed the Trades Union Congress. “So much of our crumbling public realm – universities, councils, the care system – [are] all even worse than we expected,” he told the assembled delegates.
A Guardian analysis of the government estate in England – looking across the public sector at schools, hospitals, courts and prisons – suggests Starmer was correct to use the word “crumbling”. Other descriptors he could also have used are dilapidated, close to failure and, in some cases, posing a risk to life and safety.
Long-term investment in the public realm was one of the main points of October’s budget, with Rachel Reeves changing the debt rules in order to free up billions for infrastructure spending. But just how bad has the problem got?
Collapsing classrooms
One in six schoolchildren (almost 1.6 million) are studying in schools that either need major work done or are in a relatively poor condition.
Almost 729,000 of those pupils study in a school that either the government or responsible body (such as the local council) believes needs rebuilding or refurbishment because of safety problems or the general dilapidated condition of the buildings.
A further 847,000 pupils study in a school with a high “relative condition need”, meaning a large number of defects and deterioration relative to the building’s size.
The figures show that 30% of schools in the Midlands fall into one of those two categories, more than any other region in England. Ten per cent of schools in the south-west and 12% of schools in London had such significant problems with building conditions.
The government’s school rebuilding programme – launched in 2022 – is expected to have handed over just 24 schools by the end of September this year. The government’s target is 50 schools a year.
Crumbling courtrooms
Only 1% of court buildings in England were considered to be in a good condition at the end of October this year.
The figures – based on equipment conditions as well as recent facilities management data – found 45% of courts were rated as unsatisfactory, and another 41% were classed as poor, the worst grading.
The condition of England’s courtrooms is having an impact on the justice system. Ministry of Justice figures show 202 crown court trials had to be rescheduled on the day because of equipment or accommodation failures between 2020 and 2023 – compared with just 90 in the four years before the pandemic.
Half of all court buildings in the Midlands were classed as poor, while in the south-east almost two-thirds were in the worst category.
High-risk hospitals
The repair bill to bring the health service’s estate up to standard has more than trebled from £4.5bn in 2012-13 to £13.8bn last year, according to NHS England data.
Of those repairs, £2.7bn are seen as “high-risk” because they pose a danger to people being treated, working in or visiting hospitals and clinics.
Failing buildings and equipment led to clinical services being cancelled or interrupted 3,318 times last year – 64 times a week. Taking only the three most disruptive incidents in each hospital, that equated to 14,600 hours of lost clinical time.
Separate figures suggest the repair backlogs are affecting the quality of care. Of the NHS buildings that had received a rating from the Care and Quality Commission, those ranking inadequate overall (and inadequate for patient safety) had larger high-risk repair backlogs on average.
Dilapidated DWP
There is a lack of centrally held data on the condition of public buildings. A government report in 2022 found that just 61% were deemed to be in a good or satisfactory condition. Though data was patchy, the then government said that “condition has over a number of years deteriorated to the point where functionality was becoming affected”.
The underlying figures – obtained by the Guardian through freedom of information requests – show that the estate of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – which includes Jobcentre Plus buildings – is one of the worst-affected parts of the government. Of its 795 buildings, 42% were in a poor or bad condition as of 2021.
Poor prison conditions
A Guardian analysis of reports by independent monitoring boards found that 29% of 120 prisons had serious maintenance issues, dilapidated or poor building conditions or inhumane environments for prisoners mentioned in their latest report. Almost 26,000 prisoners were being held in one of these prisons as of October this year.
A further 39% of prisons had some more minor issues, such as boiler failures and leaks, mentioned in their latest report.
Infrastructure issues had led to “inhumane” conditions, the reports said. At Coldingley, most residents existed in “mainly dilapidated, outdated, late-1960s infrastructure”. The “appalling living conditions” at the Surrey prison included raw sewage dripping through ceilings, the presence of legionella bacteria, and prisoners forced to defecate in buckets overnight (the practice – known as “slopping out” – was supposed to have been abolished in 1996).
Norwich prison also experienced problems with sewage, when a collapsed sewer pipe resulted in a prisoner’s cell being flooded. Many prisons had rodent infestations. At Grendon, the board said “no one should have to live and work in an environment when so many rats are so much in evidence at such close quarters”.
The state of prisons has knock-on effects for the rest of society. At Elmley, where the age of the building and poor maintenance had caused difficulties, the board concluded: “The poor experience of prison accommodation is unlikely to benefit any attempts at rehabilitation.”
Additional reporting by Pamela Duncan and Raphael Hernandes
