Education
Debate between Gillian Keegan and John Redwood(7 months, 2 weeks ago)
Ministerial CorrectionsRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)
Will individual schools have direct access to the money and the temporary accommodation, if they need it? And will every local education authority make an urgent statement about their role in commissioning the schools in the first place and about maintenance, where they are responsible?
Gillian Keegan
We have put a caseworker in place so that each school can work with that caseworker, as well as having access to the temporary accommodation and the company that can do the propping work, which we have already secured, or to additional surveying, if required. We are working closely with local authorities, but I urge the 5% of local authorities that have not responded to the questionnaire to respond—that is more important than ever.
[Official Report, 4 September 2023, Vol. 737, c. 60.]
Letter of correction from the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Chichester (Gillian Keegan).
An error has been identified in my response to my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (John Redwood). The correct response should have been:
Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete in Education Settings
Debate between Gillian Keegan and John Redwood(7 months, 4 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Gillian Keegan
I thank the right hon. Lady for her joke, but as a Scouser I have a bit of a higher bar, I think.
In addition to our targeted work on RAAC, we have continued to invest in improving the condition of the school estate, with over £15 billion allocated since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed for 2023-24. That is informed by the consistent data on the condition of the estate. By the way, the Labour programme, about which there were scathing reports, did not even look at the condition—it was not a factor or a criterion. On top of that, we will transform 500 schools through our school rebuilding programme, prioritising those buildings in the poorest condition and those where there is evidence of safety issues.
John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)
Will individual schools have direct access to the money and the temporary accommodation, if they need it? And will every local education authority make an urgent statement about their role in commissioning the schools in the first place and about maintenance, where they are responsible?