Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Josh MacAlister and Bill Esterson

Monday 22nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

7. If she will make it her policy to prioritise Hudson primary school, Sefton, in the school rebuilding programme.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)]

We inherited the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete—RAAC—crisis and years of decay in the school estate. Labour is investing almost £20 billion in the school rebuilding programme to rebuild over 750 schools across England. Over 500 schools are already in the programme, with well over half already in delivery. We will select a further 250 schools by early 2027.

[Bill Esterson]

Hudson primary school in my constituency does a brilliant job. It is a family hub, it specialises in support for children with SEND and autism, and it has a nursery, but its building, which is 80 years old, suffers from a high water table that brings damp, mould and structural problems for the building—as does occasional flooding. Will the Minister give Niki Craddock, the excellent headteacher at Hudson primary school, her team and all the children they serve the news that he will look favourably on—