SMEs are being urged to apply for places on the Education Funding Agency's (EFA) new £6 billion schools framework.

The programme will be used to deliver free schools, university technical colleges, studio schools, and academies.

The call for smaller contractors is being made after a report by the National Federation of Builders (NFB) found no SMEs had been awarded contracts in the EFA regional framework, despite it being initially conceived to generate work for local contractors.

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Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, said: "We are strongly encouraging members with experience in school building to sign up for the EFA construction framework. Regional SMEs have local communities at heart because they employ, train, and invest money locally and represent value for money. For every £1 spent with an SME, 90p remains in the local economy."

The deadline for contractors to register interest online is 06 June.

(LM)