PM says it’s ‘completely wrong’ to suggest he slashed funding for school rebuilding as chancellor
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it is “completely and utterly wrong” to suggest that he is to blame for failing to fully fund a programme to rebuild England’s schools when he was chancellor.
Thousands of pupils face disruption at the start of term this week following an order to fully or partially close 104 schools because of concerns about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which is prone to collapse.
Earlier Jonathan Slater, who was permanent secretary at the Department for Education (DfE) from May 2016 to August 2020, claimed the Treasury had failed to fully fund school rebuilding schemes – including during Mr Sunak’s time at the helm.
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He said he was “absolutely amazed” that a decision was made after he left the department to halve the school rebuilding programme.
Mr Slater said up to 400 schools a year need to be replaced, but the DfE got funding for 100 while he was the senior official.
Mr Slater said there was a “critical” risk to life in some schools.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The actual ask in the Spending Review of 2021 was to double the 100 to 200 – that’s what we thought was going to be practical at first instance.
“I thought we’d get it, but the actual decision that the chancellor took in 2021 was to halve the size of the programme.”
But asked if he was to blame for the concrete crisis, Mr Sunak said: “I think that is completely and utterly wrong.
“Actually one of the first things I did as chancellor, in my first spending review in 2020, was to announce a new 10-year school re-building programme for 500 schools.
“Now that equates to about 50 schools a year, that will be refurbished or rebuilt.
“If you look at what we have been doing over the previous decade, that’s completely in line with what we have always done.”
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PM ‘putting lives at risk’
Labour accused the prime minister of “putting children’s lives at risk” following Mr Slater’s comments.
Analysis published by the party found that spending on school rebuilding between 2019 and 2020 was at £765m, but this fell to £560m the following year.
Spending dropped again to £416m in 2021 to 2022, the party said.
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said: “The defining image of 13 years of the Conservative-run education system will be children sat under steel girders to stop the roof falling in.
“Rishi Sunak bears huge culpability for his role in this debacle: he doubled down on Michael Gove’s decision to axe Labour’s schools rebuilding programme and now the chickens have come home to roost – with yet more disruption to children’s education.”
Just days before the start of term more than 100 schools in England were told to fully or partially close as a result of safety concerns about RAAC, which was widely used from the 1950s to mid-1990s.
The Department for Education has so far refused to say which schools are affected.
‘Extra money’ will be available – Sunak
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has vowed to publish a list of the schools affected by the concrete crisis this week.
She also sought to clarify concerns around costs, insisting her department will pay for repairs and temporary accommodation.
Ms Keegan could not say how much the DfE will ultimately have to ringfence – but admitted the concrete crisis will likely cost “many many millions”.
Despite both Ms Keegan and Treasury sources suggesting the money will come from the DfE’s existing budget, Mr Sunak said “extra money” will be made available.
Mr Sunak said: “The Chancellor has been crystal clear that schools will be given extra money for these mitigations, it won’t come from their existing school budgets.”
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A man has been arrested by police investigating a “significant” wildfire that triggered a major incident in Northern Ireland.
More than 100 firefighters and 15 fire appliances were deployed on Saturday to Sandbank Road, Hilltown, to tackle the blaze which is believed to have been caused deliberately, fire chiefs said.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”.
It was extinguished at 2.53am on Sunday and the major incident status lifted, the NIFRS said.
“The cause of this fire is believed to have been deliberate,” chief fire and rescue officer Aidan Jennings said.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Sunday that a 25-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, and non-related driving offences”.
“He remains in custody at this time as enquiries continue into the circumstances surrounding the fire,” the force added.
The wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown. Pic: Sky Watch NI
More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire. Pic: Sky Watch NI
Various fires erupted across England this week amid uncharacteristically warm and dry conditions for the time of year.
On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.
Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”
Moors Valley Country Park blackened by fires this week
Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.
In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.
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Wildfires spread across nature reserve
Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.
Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.
The weather conditions triggered a “severe” wildfire rating for parts of the UK on Tuesday.
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