Feasibility study funding - England vs Scotland vs Wales
How CIF, SRP, SCA, VAP and the £710m Renewal & Retrofit Programme (England) compare with the Learning Estate Investment Programme and council capital block (Scotland) and Sustainable Communities for Learning (Wales) when the question is who pays the feasibility study itself.
Why this comparison matters
A bursar in an English academy trust, a council estates officer in Edinburgh and a capital programme lead in a Welsh LA all face the same physical question - is the building viable - but three different funding architectures. The English routes split cleanly into reimbursement (CIF, VAP) and direct-pay (SRP, R&R); the Scottish route is a single capital intervention rate; the Welsh route runs through HM Treasury's Five Case Model with a higher intervention rate for net-zero schemes. The same RIBA Stage 0-2 deliverable lands inside three different bid documents.
The three jurisdictions side by side
| Axis | England | Scotland | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary scheme name | CIF (capital), SRP (rebuild), SCA (large MAT / LA block), VAP (VA schools), £710m Renewal & Retrofit[CIF 2025-26 guide, SCA 2025-26, SRP prioritisation] | Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP); local authority capital from the annual Local Government Finance Settlement[Scottish Government, LEIP and LGF Circular 3/2025] | Sustainable Communities for Learning (SCfL), formerly 21st Century Schools[Welsh Government, SCfL programme guidance] |
| Does it pay the feasibility fee upfront | CIF: no, recoverable post-award only. SRP: yes from Cohort 4 (DfE-appointed team). SCA: at body's discretion. R&R: yes, structured to cover pre-construction[CIF 2025-26 guide cl. 4.7] | LEIP: yes, capital intervention rate of 50% (some 67%) of total project cost including pre-construction; the council carries the cashflow but recovers in-year[Scottish Government LEIP overview] | SCfL: yes for approved schemes (Strategic Outline Programme onwards); pre-construction is funded inside the intervention rate (65% standard, 75% for net-zero band B / 21st Century)[SCfL programme guidance, sec. 3] |
| Reimbursement basis | CIF: reimbursed against the project award after the award letter; VAP: 90% reimbursed, 10% diocesan contribution; SRP and R&R: paid direct by DfE | Intervention rate paid on capital draw-down against milestones (Stage 1 / Stage 2 / Stage 3 RIBA-equivalent). Local share funded by the council's own borrowing or capital receipts | Intervention rate paid by Welsh Government against an approved Business Justification Case at each gateway (SOP, SOC, OBC, FBC). Local share carried by the LA or diocese |
| Decision body that signs off the brief | ESFA / DfE for CIF, SRP, R&R, VAP; LA or MAT board for SCA | Scottish Futures Trust (programme management) plus the responsible council; Scottish Ministers for LEIP gateway approvals | Welsh Government Education Infrastructure team, with sponsoring LA or FE / HE body submitting the case |
| Standard the feasibility output must hit | BB103 / BB104 area schedule, NRM1 Cost Plan A, RIBA Plan of Work 2020 stages 0-2, Gen Zero specification where in scope[BB103, BB104, RICS NRM1] | Scottish Futures Trust's Learning Estate Strategy benchmarks, Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard, RIBA Stage 1-2 equivalent in OSCR-aligned format[Scottish Government Learning Estate Strategy] | Welsh Government net-zero carbon target (operational, embodied), Building for Wales 2050, RIBA Stage 1-2 equivalent inside the Five Case Model (HM Treasury Green Book)[SCfL programme guidance, Green Book] |
| Typical fee envelope for a Stage 0-2 feasibility (multidisciplinary) | £18,500-£40,000 (academy bursar buyer) | £20,000-£45,000 (council estates team buyer, broadly the same scope but adds Section 75 / planning context) | £20,000-£42,000 (LA capital programme buyer, with additional Welsh-language and net-zero band B documentation) |
| Round timing 2026-27 | CIF bid window autumn 2026, decisions spring 2027; SRP rolling; R&R first allocations 2026-27; VAP autumn 2026 | LEIP Phase 3 announcements expected during 2026; council capital plans set annually in March | SCfL Band B (2024-2030) live; next call for new schemes via LA Strategic Outline Programme refresh |
Upfront-paid vs reimbursed in one line
England: mixed (CIF and VAP reimbursed, SRP and R&R paid direct). Scotland: paid as part of the LEIP capital intervention rate, drawn down against milestones. Wales: paid inside the SCfL intervention rate against the Five Case Model gateways. Only England forces a trust to carry the feasibility fee until the award letter lands.
What does not transfer between jurisdictions
BB103/BB104 area schedules are an English DfE standard; the Scottish equivalent is the Learning Estate Strategy benchmark and the Welsh equivalent is Building for Wales 2050. A feasibility report written to the English standard will not pass Scottish Futures Trust gateway review without rework. Treat the brief template as scheme-specific - the underlying RIBA Stage 0-2 spine is portable, the bid wrapper is not.
What this means for a multi-region MAT or trust
Trusts operating across borders (rare but real, for example FE colleges or special-school groups) should commission separate Stage 0-2 outputs per jurisdiction rather than re-cutting one report. Fee-wise expect a 5-10% uplift for the second jurisdiction because the consultant team has to re-derive the area schedule and the net-zero metric. Single-team appointments do work; single-deliverable appointments do not.
- DfE Condition Improvement Fund 2025-26 applicants' guide
- School Rebuilding Programme prioritisation
- Learning Estate Investment Programme (Scotland)
- Scottish Local Government Finance settlement (capital block)
- Sustainable Communities for Learning (Wales)
- Sustainable Communities for Learning programme guidance