FOI Request - Funding for School Ventilation
Request 101003114152
Could you please provide me with a breakdown of how the council spent the funding from the Scottish Government to support increased CO2 monitoring in schools. Scottish Government records (attached) show that the council received £174,000 on 14 October, 2021 and another £83,000 on 28 Jan, 2022.
1. How much of that funding has been spent to date?
2. Could I please have an itemised list of the expenditures? (Including names of schools)
3. What are the plans for the remainder of the funds?
4. What were the stipulations made by the Scottish Government when the money was provided? Are there restrictions on how the money can be used, types of equipment purchased, or any other rules or restrictions?
Response 16-08-2022
1. To date £123,672.17 of capital spend from total allocation of £52K revenue and £203,288K capital
2. Spend to date related to supply of +1000 mobile CO2 monitors across all secondary, primary and nursery schools (council and private providers) to support continuous real time monitoring of CO2 and temperature in all classrooms and teaching spaces.
3. Moray Council continue to monitor CO2 levels - especially as we remove COVID restrictions - to determine any persistent issues and remaining budget is set aside to address remedial actions. This is broken down into:
• Revenue - £52,000 available to support any consultancy or building modelling to develop understanding and action plans to mitigate future CO2 levels consistently above expected thresholds
• Capital allocation:
• £53, 000 available to support works to permanently fit mobile monitoring devices (wall mountings, power and protective mesh as required) and windows improvements at identified schools (currently only Knockando Primary School and Forres Academy)
• £22,000 available to support localised mechanical ventilation
• £4,500 to support air cleaning devices
The actual capital spend allocation across these areas is flexible and based on assessment of impact and urgency.
4. Scottish Government guidance in Oct 2021 stipulated that allocated funds could be allocated as follows:
• Capital for purchase and installation of CO2 monitors
• Revenue to fund associated staff, staff training or consultancy resource requirements
• Capital and/or revenue funding to contribute to costs of any remedial action required that has been identified by monitoring
Further funding in Jan 2022 accompanied by Scottish Government guidance that this was intended for further urgent remedial works required to improve air flow such as adjustments to windows and doors, use of fans systems (local mechanical ventilation) and air cleaning devices in exceptional circumstance in line with existing safety guidance