Tories dragging heels on RAAC schools crisis so it's 'someone else's problem'
Labour's Bridget Phillipson has accused the Tories of kicking the RAAC crisis in schools down the road in the hope someone else will fix it.
The Shadow Education Secretary said it was "shocking and shameful" that children were facing yet more disruption to their education after Covid due to dodgy concrete in classrooms. At least 174 schools in England have been found to have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), forcing heads to shut or partially close buildings. Thousands of children have been forced into temporary classrooms while urgent work takes place to strip the collapse-prone concrete from school buildings.
Appearing on a Mumsnet webinar, Ms Phillipson said: "It is shocking and shameful that after all of the disruption of the pandemic too many young people are going back to that kind of remote learning or a combination of the two - even where it's face to face, it's being done in the community centre or in the lunch hall because the classrooms are out of action."
She warned that thousands of schools had exceeded their intended life span and heads were still struggling to get details from Government on the scale of the problem. "It's hard to set out a plan for what happens next given that the Government are being far from transparent about the full extent of all of this," Ms Phillipson said.
"My fear is that they hope that they can just kind of kick it beyond the election, that it might become someone else's problem." She added: "There's been a lot of secrecy from the Government on this and sadly it's children who are losing out."
Schools boss Gillian Keegan says she's doing 'f***ing good job' in hot mic gaffe
Ms Phillipson was also grilled on Labour's plan to end tax breaks for private schools if it wins the next election. Labour has long promised to scrap tax perks enjoyed by elite institutions and funnel cash to the state sector. It has now confirmed it will press ahead with forcing private schools to pay VAT on school fees and ending business rates relief. But it won't remove the charitable status enjoyed by fee-paying schools, a move perceived as a U-turn in some quarters.
Labour's schools chief said: "I've always been focused on how we end the tax breaks and how we then use that money to deliver high standards in our state schools. And ending charitable status was not a necessary part of doing that. We can press ahead with ending the tax breaks relatively quickly and then put that money into developing better outcomes for children. So the policy is unchanged in that regard."
She said private schools don't have to pass on VAT to parents and "could choose to make different choices themselves about how they offer different kinds of provision”.
Ms Phillipson made a break from tradition when she insisted she was "not really a biscuit person" in response to Mumsnet's usual question on a politician's favourite sugary snack. Instead, she said she would reach for a bag of crisps.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has insisted the Government is taking a "cautious approach" so parents can be confident their kids are safe in school. She added: "We will continue to work closely with affected schools and provide both expert and financial support to minimise disruption and keep staff and children safe."
The Government says £1.8 billion has already been committed in capital funding this year to support schools, as part of £15 billion allocated since 2015. In addition, 500 schools will also be refurbished over the next decade through the school rebuilding programme.
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