255 academies applied for CIF loans in 2015/16 - plans to extend scheme.

In response to an FOI request the Education Funding Agency has said it received 255 loan applications alongside grant applications in its 2015/16 Condition Improvement Fund process. The EFA added that this loan facility could be extended to larger multi-academy trusts (MATs).


The EFA did not provide further details saying the results of the applications would be published in June 2016.

Like CIF funding, the loans are currently only available to single academy trusts and small MATs (five or less academies/ less than 3,000 pupils). The EFA said:‘Since 2015-16, MATs with 5 or more schools and at least 3,000 pupils receive a direct formulaic school condition allocation, instead of needing to bid into the Condition Improvement Fund to finance their condition projects. Unlike smaller MATs, they therefore get guaranteed funding each year based on the academies they have within the MAT. They are free to use their funding across their estate according to their own priorities.

‘However, we are considering the case for extending a loans facility to these larger MATs, which may help them achieve greater efficiency by allowing them to carry out projects to a more flexible schedule, or make investments to realise longer-term savings.’

Date	Funding	Source
ACMF (Academies Capital Maintenance Fund)
2010/11	£85m
2011/12	£299m
2013/14	£392m	(http://bit.ly/1WlVgDI)
2014/15	£409m	(http://bit.ly/23EVx3G)
CIF (Condition Improvement Fund)
2015/16	£383m (+ ? loans)	http://bit.ly/1T23Vc6
2016/17	£435m (+ ? loans)	http://bit.ly/27aSQM2

New School Finance looked at the loans scheme in more detail last year in which the EFA said: ‘We are anxious that colleges be confident that they can afford the repayments and do not feel under undue pressure to take a loan. It is likely that should the negotiation be open to the public at this point in time, there could be direct influence placed on the school leading to hasty decisions being made.’