Schools concrete crisis: Starmer attacks Sunak’s Tory ‘cowboys’ as full list of closures revealed
Prime minister ‘makes no apology’ for Raac decisions as Labour asks if he is ‘ashamed’ over crisis caused by 13 years of ‘botched jobs’
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Sir Keir Starmer has blamed the crumbling concrete crisis on “cutting corners” and “sticking plaster politics” as he grilled the prime minister in PMQs today.
The Labour leader: “It’s the sort thing you expect from cowboy builders saying everyone else is wrong, everyone is to blame, protesting that they’re doing an effing good job even if the ceiling falls in – except in this case the cowboys are running this country.”
He added: “Isn’t he ashamed that after 13 years children are cowering under steel supports, stopping their classroom roof falling in.”
Rishi Sunak said he was not sorry for the decision to close around 100 of the 156 schools with Raac, saying he would “make no apology for acting decisively in the light of new information”.
It comes as the Department for Education has published a full list of the schools affected with Raac in England.
Are you a parent whose child has been affected by RAAC closures? E-mail alexander.butler@independent.co.uk
Only four schools refurbished under scheme to cover 50 a year
Only four schools have been refurbished under Government plans which promised to cover 50 a year, it has emerged.
It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak continues to face questions over funding for crumbling schools across the UK.
Ed Balls accuses schools minister of not knowing how many schools are unsafe
Ed Balls grilled the schools minister amid the concrete scandal on Tuesday 5 September, accusing Nick Gibb of not knowing how many schools are unsafe.
“You’ve just admitted to us that you still don’t know all of the schools that have got RAAC in,” the Good Morning Britain presenter said.
“The responsible bodies have been advised - very strongly since 2018 - to identify if they have RAAC in their schools,” Mr Gibb responded, addressing the claim.
“You don’t know the answer to my question, do you? There are schools that might be at risk and you don’t know,” Mr Balls then interrupted.
Sunak rejected request to fix schools, minister claims
Rishi Sunak was under fresh pressure over his role in the concrete crisis after a minister said the former chancellor approved funding for the rebuilding of 50 schools yearly, despite a bid for 200.
Schools minister Nick Gibb suggested on Tuesday that the Prime Minister, when chancellor in 2021, had gone with other priorities over a request to increase funding to fix England’s schools.
The Department for Education (DfE) conceded that just four schools have been rebuilt so far under the programme at the centre of that row.
But Mr Gibb insisted the Government’s response to the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) that is causing more than 100 schools to partially or fully shut is “world-leading”.
Headteacher reacts to Gillian Keegan’s sweary outburst
A primary school headteacher reacted with shock as she was shown Gillian Keegan’s sweary outburst amid the concrete crisis.
The education secretary was caught on a hot mic complaining about not being thanked for doing a “f****** good job” on Monday 4 September.
“I am horrified and disgusted by what I have just seen,” Cas Evans, headteacher at Parks Primary School in Leicester, said.
“Please, Gillian, come and see my school, come and really understand what RAAC looks like, what RAAC is in a school.
“Just come and see what your serving headteachers are doing in order to maintain a good education.”
Sunak told cabinet ‘parents should be reassured'
Rishi Sunak told his cabinet that “parents should be reassured that the vast majority of schools” are not affected by RAAC, No 10 has said.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that during today’s cabinet meeting: “The Prime Minister provided a short update on the Government’s approach to Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) in school settings.
“He said it was right to prioritise safety and take a proactive approach of doing everything possible to minimise disruption in the small portion of schools which are affected.
“He said parents should be reassured that the vast majority of schools are not impacted by Raac and that mitigations either are or are being put in place for those already identified, meaning face-to face-education was either uninterrupted or the impacts have been kept to the bare minimum.”
Rachel Reeves presses Jeremy Hunt to publish DfE’s 2021 warnings about crumbling school estate
Rachel Reeves has pressed the chancellor to publish the Department for Education’s 2021 warnings about the crumbling school estate.
The shadow chancellor told the Commons: “Now I understand, indeed I know that in the lead up to the 2021 spending review, the Department for Education made a submission to the Treasury about the dangerous deteriorating school estate, including from Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete).
“These warnings were ignored by the then-chancellor, the current prime minister, and we have seen the consequences.
“So will today’s chancellor do the right thing and publish the Department for Education’s submission to the last spending review?”
Jeremy Hunt did not directly address the question, but said: “Capital spending at the Department for Education went up 16% in real terms in that review. Isn’t the difference that with the fastest recovery in Europe, Conservatives build an economy that can pay our schools and hospitals and Labour run out of money?”
Urgent review of hospital buildings ordered over collapse-prone concrete fears
Health leaders have been reminded to review their hospital buildings over mounting fears about collapse-prone concrete.
NHS England has written to all hospital leaders to make sure they have reviewed risks to their buildings and specific risks around the existence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) and mitigations in place to manage the danger.
In a letter on Tuesday, hospitals were told to ensure if they have not already reviewed this return the information to NHS England’s national RAAC programme team.
It said new guidance by The Department for Education regarding RAAC in schools has “generated heightened public interest in the presence of RAAC in the NHS estate.”
Ministers looking at extent of Raac problems in public buildings
Ministers are working to find out how many public buildings could be affected by collapse-risk concrete.
Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin is leading the work to establish the extent of the problem following the decision to fully or partially close more than 100 schools in England because of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).
Almost £700 million has already been allocated for NHS hospitals in England with Raac issues, but courts, police stations and prisons could also be affected.
But Downing Street said there were no plans to publish a list of public buildings that contain Raac.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The advice we’ve had across the piece is that the way to manage Raac will vary depending on the circumstances in which it’s found.
“We have mitigations in place across the NHS estate, equally, they also have estate managers who monitor the conditions of buildings and that’s not the case in education settings, as you might expect in a small primary.
“And that’s why the approach is differing, depending on settings.”
The spokesman added: “There is work being led by Minister Quin from the Cabinet Office on bringing together all the information we have about Raac in public buildings and the prime minister led a meeting on that just yesterday, and he and Mr Quin will continue to lead the cross-government work on that.
“But on the NHS estate and in courts, the understanding of that is well-advanced and mitigations are being put in place.”
The Ministry of Justice began work “some months ago” on examining the impact on prisons, the spokesman said.
‘Right to prioritise safety’ by closing schools, Sunak tells cabinet
Rishi Sunak told his cabinet it was “right to prioritise safety” by closing schools affected by the concrete crisis, though the issue did not dominate the meeting.
The prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters on Tuesday: “The prime minister provided a short update on the government’s approach to Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) in school settings.
“He said it was right to prioritise safety and take a proactive approach of doing everything possible to minimise disruption in the small portion of schools which are affected.
“He said parents should be reassured that the vast majority of schools are not impacted by Raac and that mitigations either are or are being put in place for those already identified, meaning face-to face-education was either uninterrupted or the impacts have been kept to the bare minimum.”
The official declined to say how much of the cabinet meeting was spent discussing the crisis, but did not deny that it was not the main focus of the gathering.
Government ‘has no plans’ to tell public where buildings with Raac are
The government is scrambling to pull together the information it has on public buildings with Raac – but has no plans to tell the public where they are.
Rishi Sunak chaired a meeting on the issue yesterday, although the work is being led by the cabinet office minister Jeremy Quin.
But No 10 said it was “not aware” of plans let the public know the full list of all buildings affected.
Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said : “The first thing to do is make sure that we are bringing together all the information we have across departments”.
He went on: “For some time, indeed for years, many departments, including the Department for Education (DFE), have been furthering our understanding of where Raac is in their estate”.
He said there was work being undertaken to bring “together all that information into one place and making sure that departments across the piece have any support that they need”.
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