Urgent Capital Support (UCS)
Department for Education (DfE) · England
Urgent Capital Support provides funding to address urgent building condition issues in schools and colleges that pose health and safety risks or threaten closure.
Summary
Deadline
30 Mar 2026
Complexity
Medium
Time to apply
20-60 hours
Updated
9 Jun 2026
Urgent Capital Support provides funding to address urgent building condition issues in schools and colleges that pose health and safety risks or threaten closure.
Eligibility
Applicant types
Not specified
Business size
SME
Industries
Education sector
Match funding
Needs verification
Requirements
Academy trusts, Voluntary Aided (VA) schools not receiving school condition allocation, and sixth-form colleges Maintained schools, academies, sixth-form colleges and non-maintained special schools in England with urgent capital need per DfE UCS guidance. To provide urgent funding for critical building issues that cannot wait for standard funding rounds
Eligible applicants
Academy trusts, Voluntary Aided (VA) schools not receiving school condition allocation, and sixth-form colleges
Funding and scope
Benefit amount
Amount needs verification
Total fund available
Not specified
Funding intensity
Not specified
Payment type
Reimbursement
Eligible scope
To provide urgent funding for critical building issues that cannot wait for standard funding rounds
Eligible expenses
Not specified
Ineligible costs
- Retrospective works
- land purchase
- expansion projects
- works covered by insurance or other funding
- non-urgent or long-term projects
Application and risks
Application platform
Email submission to Department for Education
Competitiveness
Open (Rolling assessment)
Decision timeline
Not specified
Assessment process
Applications assessed case-by-case based on urgency and eligibility; may involve site visits and ministerial approval
Application sections
Not specified
Application components
- Application form
- finance template
- supporting evidence of urgency and building condition
Timeline and partners
Opening date
31 Mar 2025
Project duration
Not specified
Project start
Not specified
Project end
Not specified
Co-funders
Not specified
Collaboration rules
- Application via DfE capital funding portal with supporting evidence of urgent need.
Consortium requirements
- Single school/college applicant; not a consortium scheme.
Additional guidance
[{"label":"Key Organisational Requirements","value":"Must demonstrate urgent building condition issues posing health and safety risks or risk of closure; must show inability to fund works independently or via CIF loan; must be responsible for capital investment in the building"},{"label":"Funding Structure","value":"Funding typically provided as loans; grants available in exceptional circumstances; contribution from applicant may be required"},{"label":"important notes","value":"Not a competitive process; decisions are final with no appeals; applications must be submitted before works begin; only works listed in application are assessed"}]
Quick facts
- Status
- Open
- Deadline
- 30 Mar 2026
- Funding amount
- Amount needs verification
- Funding band
- Not specified
- Funding type
- Capital support (primarily loans, with grants in exceptional cases)
- Payment type
- Reimbursement
- Audience
- Mixed
- Industry
- Education sector
- Last updated
- 9 Jun 2026
- Published
- Not specified