What is decarbonisation? Decarbonisation is a crucial process in the fight against climate change. It all about reducing the amount of carbon emissions and other greenhouse gas emissions, such as electricity generation, transportation, and industrial processes. By transitioning to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, implementing energy-efficient practices, and adopting low-carbon technologies, we can mitigate the impact of human activities on the environment and work towards a more sustainable future for our planet as per the governments ‘net zero strategy.‘ Why does it matter? Climate change is an urgent global challenge that demands immediate action, and we must take steps […]
Tag Archives: Funding
Funding is one of the key considerations for any building project. Munday + Cramer can assist clients with securing funds via a number of different schemes. This is dependent on your organisation type, as well as the type of project you are going to be building.
CIF (Condition Improvement Fund) funding
Schools that have converted to form academies, often have buildings which require improvement or expansion. The ESFA have recognised this and therefore have created the CIF fund, to provide money to academies to address this. The academy must make an application for the money, to include details of the proposed works as well as a study detailing the cost of no action. The academy should expect to invest some money of their own, either by capital expenditure or Salix loan. Popular schemes include heating, roofing, window replacement, drainage, toilet refurbishments and additional classroom or communal area space.
LCVAP Funding
This funding is administered by the Diocese with the co-ordination of the LAs and Church of England. Projects funded in this way have no restrictions placed on size. Additionally, the type of capital projects are unrestricted, so long as those works are within the remit of the governing body. The fund provides up to 90% of the required money for the project, with the remaining 10% being governor’s liability.
Devolved Formula Capital (DFC)
DFC is a formula-based grant available to all VA schools. Exceptions are:
- Schools which open in a new building or move into a new building
- A school which is due for closure.
- Schools which enter into a PFI contract. In this case the grant is withdrawn from the year following the contract signing. It is returned in the third year after the service is started. It is then at 50% of the standard rate.
- A school which is included in Building Schools for the Future (BSF)
DFC grants can be rolled forward, but must be spent within three years of allocation. DFC grants support all types of capital work as long as it is governing body responsibility. There is a minimum project cost of £2,000 but no maximum cost.
Why do buildings need fire stopping solutions? Fire stopping products are used to prevent fire and smoke spreading through a building. Similarly, they help keep key areas such as fire exit corridors protected. Penetrations through walls etc. for infrastructure such as pipework, cables and gas pipes, if not properly fireproofed can allow smoke and fire to spread, however small the aperture! The Challenge: M+C helped their client secure CIF funding for fire stopping solutions to be implemented across their site. In conjunction with Cahill Design Consultants (CDC), a number of key issues that compromised fire safety were identified: Within the main teaching […]
Struggling to understand the ins and outs of the new criteria for the next round of ESFA CIF funding? As professional bid writers for over 40 years, our team are always up to date with the latest criteria. What’s more, we also have an incredibly high success rate when bidding for CIF projects. Interested in knowing more about changes for the next round of CIF and how we can help streamline the process? Keep reading! Who are the ESFA? ESFA stands for the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Part of the Government, the ESFA are responsible for deciding which educational […]
This week the government announced their new incentive to install more energy efficient, environmentally friendly, domestic heating systems. £450million has been allocated to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, with the aim to entice people to replace old boilers with low-carbon alternatives such as electric heat pumps. Currently, these systems are more expensive than boilers, so to bring down the costs to make them comparable with new boilers the government are offering £5,000 grants to homeowners that choose to make the switch. The numbers work out to provide funding for 90,000 grants over the 3 years, so anyone that is interested in this fund will need to […]
There are many different types of funding for the education sector that can be utilised to improve educational buildings and their offering for students. Applying for these funds can be a long and difficult process, with hard deadlines. Using an experienced company like the team here at Munday + Cramer will make the bidding process much easier. Additionally, it will increase the chances of having your bid accepted. The following examples of what further education and school funding is available are just that; examples. Some of these will have already closed for applications this year, but they tend to be […]
The Education and Skills Funding Agency have this week opened CIF bidding for the 2018/9 round for academies and sixth-form colleges. As with previous years, the bidding window will close in mid-December, this year on the 14th. The now-familiar portal will be central to all CIF bidding activities; and will follow the same format. Whilst the Condition Improvement Fund remains focused on the condition of buildings, there are a number of changes within this round: Healthy Pupils Capital Fund Following an announcement by the ESFA in February; funding from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (commonly known as the Sugary Drinks […]
Munday + Cramer have this week been notified that they will be joining the Diocese of Westminster’s approved consultants panel. This seal of approval follows a raft of new instructions; particularly with academies and Multi-Academy Trusts across London and the South-East. The multi-disciplinary building surveying and architectural practice have worked with a number of Diocesan schools in recent years. Most notably St. Anne’s Catholic Primary School, where Munday + Cramer have successfully delivered a range of schemes in the past 15 years. In addition to largely re-modelling the school over the years, specific projects completed include: A new entrance and […]
Munday + Cramer has again seen extraordinary growth in work secured under the Condition Improvement Fund from the EFA. For the fourth successive year, the Essex building surveying and architectural practice has outpaced the market. Projects with a total value exceeding £20.0M have been secured; representing a 63% increased in workload secured compared to 2016. The Condition Improvement Fund is organised by the Education Funding Agency annually. The fund is competed for by academy and free schools across the UK, to support condition-related projects. Over 3800 bid applications were made in the most recent round for the available £466.0M. Projects that […]
Munday + Cramer have started a range of roofing schemes on site this week in relation to CIF bids from the most recent round of funding from the Education Funding Agency. The full extent of this year’s £12.0 million of works are currently being finalised with clients, but this week sees the start of work on site for clients including Gable Hall School, Dilkes Academy and Benyon Primary School. All of these schemes are for roof replacement work, and illustrate the particular level of success seen by Munday + Cramer for this type of work each year. For Gable Hall School, […]
