MPs to probe ministers over dangerous concrete in schools
Emily Harle
Thursday, September 7, 2023
MPs are set to question ministers over the disruption caused by dangerous concrete in school buildings, following the Department for Education’s publication of a list of all affected institutions.
The education select committee will hear from DfE Permanent Secretary Susan Acland-Hood and Baroness Barran, minister for school capital investment, in an evidence session on Tuesday 19 September.
The probe comes after more than 104 schools were advised to fully or partially close just days before the start of the autumn term due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concreted (RAAC) in school buildings – a material used regularly until the 1990s, that is now assessed to be at risk of collapse.
A list published yesterday (6 September) by the DfE confirmed that RAAC has been found in 169 schools and colleges, with 19 forced to delay the start of term due to the risks posed. Many have also switched to a blend of remote and in-person learning, with four settings resorting to fully remote learning.
The affected schools include seven nurseries and one post-16 special college, the Royal College Manchester.
Earlier this week, the children's commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza warned about the damaging impact school closures could have on vulnerable children. However, analysis by the Education Policy Institute found there is no evidence yet that disadvantaged pupils are being disproportionately affected by the RAAC crisis.
Chair of the education select committee, Robin Walker MP, said: “Both I and my cross-party colleagues have heard loudly and clearly the distress and anxiety that this crisis is causing to families and staff at the 100 or more schools that are affected by RAAC.
“We share the feeling of urgency to establish how this situation developed, how and when it can be resolved, and what lessons need to be learnt.”
Commenting on the publication of the list of affected schools, the general secretary of the NASUWT Teachers’ Union Patrick Roach, said: “This raises even more questions about the government’s handling of this crisis which has already been dogged by a lack of transparency and attempts to shift blame onto schools.
“Publishing a list without an urgent plan to fix the problem in each and every one of these schools will be of no comfort to the thousands of pupils, parents and school staff whose lives are being impacted by the government’s actions.”
The National Children’s Bureau posted on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to welcome the publication of the list, but said: “We share the concern of many families, however, about disruption caused by rebuilding and likelihood there are schools missing from this list.”
The list’s publication comes after Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was caught on camera by ITV News using expletives to voice her frustration about the response to the RAAC crisis, criticising “everyone else” for having “sat on their arse and done nothing”. She later apologised for her language, adding it was an “off the cuff” remark made after being pressed hard during an interview.
