The £1.4bn 21st Century Schools programme is being accelerated following a decision by the Welsh government, the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) and local authorities to extend to schools the local government borrowing initiative (LGBI) – a scheme that increases the ability of local authorities to fund infrastructure projects – as well as providing additional capital funding.
The new £200m package of investment is expected to create or support around 23,000 jobs during the construction period.
Finance minister Jane Hutt said: “Despite the real terms cuts to the Welsh government’s capital budget since 2010, I am determined to ensure new and innovative ways are found to invest in our infrastructure and public services.
“I’m pleased to announce that we are accelerating our flagship 21st Century schools programme by extending the Local Government Borrowing Initiative to cover schools. This allows us to pump an additional £200m into the programme, which means we will deliver the £1.4bn investment to create a new generation of 21st century schools across Wales by 2018-19, two years sooner than previously planned.”
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