Is maintenance spending going to be enough to overcome the social infrastructure backlog?

By Karl Horton 2025-08-27T06:00:00

The government’s commitment to repair and maintenance is certainly encouraging, but Karl Horton of the Building Cost Information Service believes additional funding is likely to be needed

The government has promised that, by the 2034/35 financial year, it will be spending at least £10bn per year on maintaining the health, education and justice estates.

This will sit alongside significant cash injections into the New Hospital Programme (NHP), School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) and prison expansion efforts in a bid to address multi-estate dilapidation. But the big question is, will this funding be enough in practice?

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