UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced allegations on Monday that he had scaled back a school refurbishment program, even though he was aware of the risks associated with the use of deteriorating concrete in their construction.
A staggering total of 104 schools and colleges constructed with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) have been instructed not to reopen their buildings and classrooms this week due to the potential hazard of structural failure.
This directive from the Department for Education coincided with the commencement of the new academic term in England, leaving educators scrambling to secure alternative spaces for teaching thousands of students.
Nevertheless, Sunak firmly refuted a claim made by a former high-ranking official at the ministry, suggesting that Sunak had deferred a request for funding to rebuild additional schools during his tenure as finance minister.
Jonathan Slater, a senior civil servant at the DfE, contended that the department needed to replace as many as 400 schools annually, yet it received funding for only 100. In 2021, when Sunak held the position of chancellor of the exchequer, funds were allocated for just 50 schools, as disclosed in a BBC radio interview.
Sunak asserted that Slater's assertion was "completely and utterly wrong," asserting that the numbers were consistent with the policy established over the preceding decade.
Furthermore, Sunak attempted to downplay the magnitude of the issue arising from the use of this cost-effective, lightweight concrete variant, which was widely utilized in construction from the 1950s until the mid-1990s.
Concerns regarding the longevity of this material gained prominence in 2018 when a primary school in southeast England experienced a sudden roof collapse.
Sunak contended that approximately 95% of the total English schools, numbering around 22,000, remained unaffected by this concern. However, this assertion raises the possibility that hundreds of additional schools could potentially be at risk, while apprehensions are mounting regarding the potential impact on other public structures, such as hospitals and courts, constructed during the same period.
The crumbling concrete issue represents the latest challenge to confront Sunak's Conservative government, which aspires to extend its 13-year rule during an anticipated general election next year.
Political adversaries castigated government ministers for their failure to anticipate this problem and for the budget cuts that hindered the replacement of RAAC in the most severely impacted schools.
In the midst of this controversy, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan publicly apologized for using explicit language, stating that she had "done a good job" in addressing the issue, while characterizing others as having "done nothing." These comments were captured on camera following a television interview on the subject. Keegan described her remarks as spontaneous and acknowledged that her choice of language was unwarranted and inappropriate.
