Schools concrete crisis: Starmer attacks Sunak’s Tory ‘cowboys’ as full list of closures revealed

Downing Street has backed Gillian Keegan’s call for school chiefs to respond to a survey about crumbling concrete.

The prime minister’s official spokesman did not repeat the education secretary’s call for the responsible bodies, councils and school trust leaders, to “get off their backsides”.

But he said: “Certainly, parents want reassurance on this and I think we would agree that it is important that all schools, as 95% or more have already done so, fill out this survey so we can provide further reassurance.

“We know already that, in the vast majority of cases, parents and pupils will not be affected by this.”

Performances have been suspended at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford, due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).

A joint statement from Dartford Borough Council and Trafalgar Theatres said: “We’re sorry to announce that it has become necessary to suspend performances at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford with immediate effect.

“When The Orchard Theatre was built in the early 1980s, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was considered a cheap and lightweight alternative to traditional concrete and the theatre was one of thousands of public buildings to use it during construction.

“Dartford Borough Council has been commissioning regular surveys on The Orchard Theatre and the last report from our specialist consultants in April this year continued to report that defects in the Raac panels in the theatre’s roof were ‘not significant’. The council nevertheless began planning to replace panels in the ‘medium to long term’ in line with the consultant’s advice.

“However, a routine inspection yesterday (Monday), carried out in line with the most recent industry guidance resulted in the consultant making a recommendation to close until such time as further surveys could be carried out and a solution identified.”

Calls have been made for the Department for Education (DfE) to release the full list of schools that have been ordered to close over safety fears.

Pupils across the country will be forced to resume their studies either online or in temporary facilities after the government ordered more than 100 schools to close immediately following fears over a type of concrete, described as “80 per cent air” and “like an Aero Bar”.

Known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the potentially dangerous material was used to construct schools, colleges, and other buildings between the Fifties and mid-Seventies in the UK, but has since been found to be at risk of collapse.

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When Gillian Keegan was appointed education secretary by Rishi Sunak, she was the fifth person to hold the role in under four months and the sixth since the 2019 general election.

Less than a year later, she is fighting a major crisis after ordering more than 100 schools to make closures because of concerns that a crumbling aerated concrete could collapse.

The strain of that erupted in public on Monday when she unwittingly vented her frustrations, swearing about a lack of gratitude towards her while others have “sat on their arse and done nothing” while the cameras were still rolling after a broadcast interview.

Sam Blewett reports:

Because of a quirk of tradition, the summer holidays end a week earlier in Leicester than in the rest of the country.

So when the government announced on Thursday that 156 schools across the country were at risk of collapsing, one of those schools – Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy in the East Midlands city – was already full of children.

“My understanding is they literally evacuated the place,” said parent Raj Kaur on Friday. “The first most parents knew about it was when we arrived for pick-up. All the children were out on the field. It was awful. Children were crying. My first thought was, ‘Has something terrible happened?’”

To some extent, something terrible had.

Colin Drury reports:

Parliament is undergoing testing for Raac as the government becomes further embroiled in a crisis over the crumbling concrete, Bloomberg reports.

A source confirmed that tests were ongoing, but authorities were unable to say whether Raac has yet been detected.

Constructed in the 19th century, the buildings have been impacted by crumbling masonry, asbestos, leaks, vermin infestations and decades-old electrical wiring, with a body commissioned to produce estimates for a full-scale restoration finding that it would cost £22 billion and potentially take 76 years to carry out the work.

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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 Brekfast 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.”

It is a moment any politician rightly dreads, where the microphone is still on and an intemperate, revealing or downright foolish remark makes its way into the public domain.

Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, has suffered just such a “hot mic” moment, asking her ITV News interviewer, with heavy sarcasm, whether anyone had praised the work “we” have been doing on the school buildings scandal, while others were resting on their laurels. Or rather coarser formulations to that effect.

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At least thirty schools in Scotland found to contain a potentially dangerous concrete have been named by councils.

Figures shared with the PA news agency from 14 local authorities in Scotland showed at least 33 schools across the country have been found to have the potentially dangerous material, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).

Five councils were yet to respond to requests for figures including Scotland’s largest, Glasgow City Council.

City of Edinburgh Council currently has the highest number of schools with Raac and said eight across the local authority included the material.

Trinity Primary School and Cramond Primary School have temporary accommodation blocks set up, a council spokesperson said while other pupils are still in their own classrooms.

Aberdeen City Council has seven schools with the material.

West Lothian Council said Raac was present in five schools - St Kentigern’s Academy in Blackburn, Balbardie Primary School and Windyknowe Primary in Bathgate and Riverside Primary and Knightsridge Primary in Livingston.

A spokesperson said all areas with the material in its roofs had been closed with pupils and staff relocated to other areas.

As the Scottish government has released a list of schools impacted by Raac, Scottish education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said 37 schools were affected and that ministers had known since last year.

She said: “This has of course been an issue that the government has been aware of for some time, and that’s why action has been taken, and has been for some time, for example way back in July 2022 Scottish government officials made contact with the Scottish heads of Property Services and directors of education in Scotland to share information on Raac.

“I can completely appreciate why there is public concern on this, particularly given the way that announcements have been handled down in England.

“But I can reassure the member that we appreciate that public concern means we need to be as open as possible, as we can be, for this because parents and staff are concerned about this issue.”