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’

Expert explains why Raac is more dangerous than standard concrete

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

Key Points

• Starmer attacks Sunak’s Tory ‘cowboys’ amid concrete crisis
• Sunak ‘makes no apology’ for Raac decisions
• Headteachers angrily accuse Sunak of ‘dumping’ them in crumbling concrete fiasco
• 13 schools with crumbling concrete RAAC had repair work scrapped by Tories
• The full list of schools affected by Raac concrete

[5 September 2023 19:35 · Eleanor Noyce]

Which schools in Scotland are impacted by Raac?

As the Scottish education secretary has confirmed that 37 schools across the country are impacted by Raac, the list by council area is as follows:

Perth and Kinross - Perth Grammar School

West Lothian Council - St Kentigern’s Academy in Blackburn, Balbardie Primary School, Windyknowe Primary in Bathgate, Riverside Primary and Knightsridge Primary in Livingston.

Highland Council - Charleston Academy, Nairn Academy.

Moray - Forres Academy .

Inverclyde Council - one school which has not been named

Aberdeenshire Council - Mackie Academy, Westhill Academy

North Lanarkshire Council - one school which has not been named

East Lothian Council - parts of Preston Lodge High School, Prestonpans

Argyll and Bute Council - John Logie Baird Primary School in Helensburgh

Aberdeen - Abbotswell Primary, Cornhill Primary, Hazlehead Academy, Northfield Academy, Quarryhill Primary School, St Machar Academy, Westpark School

Edinburgh - Pentland Primary School, Fox Covert Primary School and St Andrews Fox Covert RC PS (one site), Colinton Primary School, Currie High School and Lorne Primary School, Cramond Primary School and Trinity Primary School.

Dundee - Ardler Primary School and St Fergus Primary School

North Ayrshire Council - Ardrossan Academy.

[5 September 2023 19:45 · Eleanor Noyce]

Kent theatre closes with immediate effect as work carried out on Raac in roof

A theatre has been closed with immediate effect as work is carried out on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) in its roof.

The Orchard Theatre in Dartford, Kent, will suspend performances until the end of September as further investigations get under way.

The announcement comes as more than 100 schools have been partially or fully closed due to the collapse-risk material.

Ministers are working to find out how many public buildings could be affected.

A joint statement from Dartford Borough Council and Trafalgar Theatres states that following a routine inspection on Monday, the latest industry guidance meant closing the theatre for further surveys to be done.

A report found defects in the Raac panels in the theatre’s roof were “not significant” in April last year but that the council had been planning to replace them in the “medium to long-term” following consultant advice.

Dartford Borough Council leader Jeremy Kite said: “It’s not the news that anyone wants to hear but there is nothing more important than the safety of the audiences, staff, artists, volunteers and everyone at the venue.

“This problem was embedded in the building at the time of its construction in 1983 and it is one of thousands of buildings built using this construction method.”

Cllr Kite added that while any closure was a “blow”, the safety of customers and staff was the “number one priority”.

Both Dartford Borough Council and Trafalgar Theatres were committed to making the necessary adaptations required as soon as possible to allow performances to recommence, he said.

Helen Enright, chief operating officer of Trafalgar Entertainment and chief executive of Trafalgar Theatres, said: “Once the time frames become clearer, we will update customers as to the status of the future programme and would like to reassure customers that their money is safe.

“We will be contacting existing ticket holders to reschedule performances or to reimburse them.”

[5 September 2023 20:15 · Eleanor Noyce]

‘Not helpful to resort to finger-pointing’ over Raac, says Confederation of School Trusts

The Confederation of School Trusts said it was “not helpful now to resort to finger-pointing” following education secretary Gillian Keegan’s comments that school chiefs who have not responded to a survey about crumbling concrete should “get off their backsides” and inform the government if they are affected.

Steve Rollett, deputy chief executive of the membership organisation and sector body for school trusts, said: “The vast majority of trusts submitted their survey responses ahead of the deadline earlier in the year.

“It is not helpful now to resort to finger-pointing at responsible bodies, especially given there may be a number of reasons why some questionnaire responses have not arrived.

“The priority is that government quickly builds confidence in the system that it knows the extent of the problem and that it has the short-term and long-term plans in place to resolve the issue.”

[5 September 2023 20:46 · Eleanor Noyce]

Gillian Keegan criticised for opening ‘Pandora’s box’ on Raac crisis

Education secretary Gillian Keegan has been criticised by colleagues for her “unilateral” decision to determine which school buildings need to close following the Raac crisis, Sky News reports.

Ministers fear she has opened a so-called “Pandora’s box” by being overly cautious, a move that could see a range of public buildings impacted, including hospitals and local authority buildings.

“This is suboptimal,” a senior Whitehall figure told Sky News. “She has made a unilateral decision. It’s not been resolved, and it’s a bit of a mess.”

[5 September 2023 21:15 · Eleanor Noyce]

Editorial: The education secretary seems to have forgotten who’s been in power for 13 years

One small but telling indicator that the Conservative Party has forgotten how to “do politics” – let alone govern a medium-sized G7 power – is the latest “attack line” deployed on social media by the Department for Education.

Under the catchy tagline “RAAC UPDATE” (ie RAAC scandal), it proudly declares: “MOST SCHOOLS UNAFFECTED”. As the swift Labour response suggested, it’s rather like the mayor of Amity Island putting “Jaws Update” posters up reading “Most beachgoers not eaten by big shark”. Like so much in this grim saga of bungles and botches, the great concrete crisis has given rise to some dark, gallows humour.

Editorial: Gillian Keegan’s response to the school building scandal has added to the grumbler’s lament that ‘nothing works any more’, from crumbling buildings and rail strikes to dirty rivers and NHS waiting lists. Her government must take its share of responsibility:

[5 September 2023 21:45 · Eleanor Noyce]

Just four schools rebuilt in last two years, government admits as concrete crisis deepens

Only four schools have been refurbished under the government’s main rebuilding programme, despite Rishi Sunak’s promise it would cover 50 a year.

The PM has been forced to deny claims by a former top civil servant that he had ignored warnings over a “critical risk to life” by cutting repairs funding when he was chancellor.

The government is also reeling from extraordinary outburst by education secretary Gillian Keegan who said others had “sat on their a***” over the crisis and she had done a “f****** good job”.

Adam Forrest reports:

[5 September 2023 22:15 · Eleanor Noyce]

Roundup of the most notorious hot-mic slip-ups after Gillian Keegan’s sweary outburst

Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, is facing criticism after her sweary outburst over the school concrete crisis was caught by a hot mic on Monday 4 September.

In a moment of frustration, she hit out at those who she argued had “sat on their arse and done nothing” and questioned why no one was saying “You’ve done a f****** good job”.

While her outburst piles pressure on Rishi Sunak and the government, Ms Keegan wasn’t the first politician to be caught out by a live microphone - and she certainly won’t be the last.

Here, The Independent takes a look at some of the most famous hot-mic moments from years gone by.

[5 September 2023 22:45 · Eleanor Noyce]

Primary school headteacher reacts to Gillian Keegan’s sweary outburst: ‘I am horrified’

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.”

[5 September 2023 23:15 · Eleanor Noyce]

Nick Gibb’s awkward reaction as he’s asked about Gillian Keegan’s sweary outburst

Minister of State for Schools Nick Gibb laughed awkwardly when he was asked about education secretary Gillian Keegan’s sweary outburst in the crumbling concrete scandal.

Mr Gibb was asked by BBC Breakfast presenter Ben Boulos: “Are you as frustrated as your boss Gillian Keegan clearly is? How do you express your frustrations?”

Mr Gibb laughed awkwardly and said: “This was an off the cuff comment. She has apologised for the language used.

“She was frustrated by the questioning. She knows how hard civil servants in the department have been working on this issue since 2018.”

[6 September 2023 00:01 · Eleanor Noyce]

Voices: If anyone sat around on their a*** doing nothing, it was Gillian Keegan

As an emblem of a government so out of touch that it looks for gratitude for presiding over 13 years of underinvestment that has left us with crumbling schools, we can do no better than Gillian Keegan’s “hot mic” moment, when she asked an ITV News correspondent:

“Does anyone ever say, ‘You know you’ve done a f****** good job because everyone else has sat on their arses and done nothing’. No signs of that, no?”

She has been slapped down by No 10 and made to apologise for her “choice language”, but it wasn’t how she said it but what she said that was so revealing – the apparent offensive sense of entitlement it suddenly illuminated, and in such stark contrast to the ritualistic expressions of concern for pupils and teachers.

The hot mic meltdown revealed the education secretary’s own stunning dereliction of duty – and an offensive sense of entitlement by a pound-store Marie Antoinette, writes Sean O’Grady: