Rishi Sunak facing questions over schools funding – as Tories mocked over concrete crisis ad

Just four schools have been rebuilt under a government programme which Rishi Sunak said would cover 50 a year.

The figures were confirmed to Sky News as the prime minister continued to face questions over funding for England’s crumbing schools, while the education secretary is being mocked over a graphic that sought to allay fears over the crisis which has led to huge disruption at the start of the new term.

Gillian Keegan, who was yesterday forced to apologise for a sweary outburst on the matter, tweeted an image saying “most schools are unaffected” by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Politics live: Keegan faces more mockery after social media post

Labour was quick to post a spoof saying “most beachgoers not eaten by big shark”, in reference to the stance of the mayor in the movie Jaws.

The unsafe concrete has forced the full or partial closure of over 100 schools in England this week due to fears it could collapse.

The government is coming under pressure over its handling of the issue with critics blaming historic underinvestment into school infrastructure.

Sky News has learnt that a “massive” school rebuilding programme launched in 2020 to rebuild 500 schools within a decade has taken off to a slow start.

The plan was for schools to be rebuilt and refurbished at a pace of around 50 a year, but the Department for Education confirmed that just four schools have been completed since the first round of applications was launched in 2021.

Officials insist the programme is on track, and that they are still confident of “ramping up” to an average of 50 per year.

A report by the National Audit Office, which scrutinises government spending, in June warned that there were concerns about the schools programme.

They said by March of this year the department had awarded just 24 contracts against a forecast of 83, due to “instability in the construction sector and inflationary risks”.

But a Downing Street spokesperson said while just four had been solely rebuilt, refurbishments were underway in many other schools.

And a spokesperson for the DfE said: “We have committed to rebuilding 500 schools under the Schools Rebuilding programme between 2020 and 2030 and are on track to deliver that commitment.

“Awarding contracts and establishing projects takes time but we have made rapid progress and are exceeding delivery timescales compared to the previous Priority School Building Programme, while delivering schools that will be net zero in operation. The Infrastructure and Project Authority has also highlighted the strength of the SRP’s progress.”

Sunak ‘gave less funding than requested’ for crumbling schools

It came as schools minister Nick Gibb admitted that his department had bid for 200 schools a year to be rebuilt, in a case made to the Treasury two years ago.

But Mr Sunak, who was chancellor at the time, approved just 50 – despite the senior civil servant in the department, Jonathan Slater, warning of a “critical risk to life”.

Mr Gibb sought to defend the prime minister, telling Sky News it was “simply not true” to say he oversaw budget cuts and that 50 a year was in line with previous austerity years.

He said: “We put in a bid for 200, but what Rishi agreed to was to continue the rebuilding programme with 50 a year, consistent with what we’d been doing since we came into office.

“We put in a bid for 200, but of course, the Treasury then has to compare that with all the other priorities from right across Whitehall, from the health service, defence, and so on.”

Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth, who was made shadow paymaster general in Monday’s reshuffle, said it was “the most startling fact of the day”.

He told Sky News: “You’ve got the schools minister to admit that they asked for more investment to fix schools and Rishi Sunak’s cut it back, so the buck stops with him. Schools have had to close and roofs are being held up with steel girders.”

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Mr Sunak has also insisted it is “completely and utterly wrong” to accuse him of overseeing budget cuts.

He said one of the first things he did as chancellor was to announce the rebuilding programme, under which he said “about 50 schools a year… will be refurbished or rebuilt”.

However, criticism of the government’s strategy has continued after Ms Keegan was caught on camera bemoaning a lack of thanks for doing a “f***ing good job” and claiming others had “been sat on their arses”.

She apologised and went on to admit to being on holiday in Spain in the run-up to ordering more than 100 schools and colleges in England to make complete or partial closures.

Ministers have said that hundreds more schools may be impacted by RAAC – which was widely used in buildings from the 1950s to the mid-1990s.

There have been warnings about the material for many years, but the government said “new evidence” emerged over the summer about the dangers it poses – prompting them to order schools to close areas where it is present.