Tory donor's firm gets £11.5m contract to supply classrooms to RAAC-hit schools
A company run by a Tory donor has won an £11.55m contract to supply temporary classrooms to schools affected by the RAAC crisis, the Mirror can reveal.
Wernick Buildings Ltd won the contract from the Department for Education in September, an investigation by the Good Law Project has found. More than 200 schools are affected by fears over the safety of crumbly concrete and many of them require temporary classrooms to allow pupils to continue with their face to face education.
It is unclear if it there was a "mini-competition" before Wernick’s contract started on September 12 or if this was a "direct purchase from a pre-established framework agreement". Wernick Buildings is controlled by David Wernick who has donated £71,000 to the Conservative Party, either personally or through his companies, between 2001 and 2021. More than half this amount - £42,000 - has been donated since 2019.
Wernick has served as a Tory councillor and was previously chairman of the Conservative Association in Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden's Hertsmere constituency. His firm has won more than £20m in government contracts since 2020, including one worth £18.6m to supply infrastructure, maintenance and servicing for Covid testing centres in 2020.
David Wernick has donated £71,000 to the Conservative Party, either personally or through his companiesThe Good Law Project revealed earlier this week that Wernick Buildings has won three contracts worth £546,000 to store unused PPE in rental containers.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Ellie Mae O'Hagan, head of engagement at the Good Law Project, said: “It’s outrageous that a Tory donor's company is set to benefit from Ministers' scandalous failure to stop our schools from crumbling. Unbelievably, this is the same company currently being paid by the Government to store the unusable PPE that it bought at inflated prices during the pandemic.
“It boils down to this, as schoolchildren are being forced into portable cabins this winter, Tory donors are lining their pockets.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The government will spend whatever it takes to ensure children are safe in school. We are working to work to permanently remove RAAC from schools and colleges. We will be providing capital grants, or where needed, rebuilding projects, including through the School Rebuilding Programme.”
Wernick Buildings Ltd is one of three firms which will provide "temporary accommodation and associated services to mitigate schools disruption due to rebuilding, condition and refurbishment programmes" according to contract information published this week.
The DfE states that "This contract is one of three with an overall combined value of up to £35,000,000". The other two firms have not yet been named.
In August, the Daily Mirror revealed the looming RAAC crisis two days before the government announced that more than 140 schools would have to close some or all of their buildings, shortly before the start of term.
RAAC - or reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete - was installed in many buildings including schools from the 1950s to the 1990s and much of it is beyond its life expectancy. If not maintained correctly it can be prone to sudden collapse.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan faced criticism for going on holiday in the lead up to the crisis. She was also caught on camera claiming she deserved credit for doing a “f***ing good job” managing the scandal.
The Mirror revealed in September that the DfE gave a £1m contract from the School Rebuilding Programme to a company linked to the her husband. Bridget Phillipson MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said:“After the PPE procurement scandal that saw Conservative Ministers hand out contracts to their friends and party donors these revelations show Tory sleaze is back with a vengeance.
“It’s not enough that the Conservatives are throwing good public money after bad because of their failure to fix the RAAC crisis, now we learn that the beneficiaries are Conservative Party donors – all the while children are being taught in Portacabins and draughty marquees.
Richard 'shuts up' GMB guest who says Hancock 'deserved' being called 'd***head'
“The Education Secretary must come to the House of Commons and explain why this multi-million pound contract ended up in the hands of a major donor to the Conservatives.”
Wernick Buildings Ltd has been approached for comment.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
