Future schools must be built to last - MP

Worcester MP Robin Walker said schools must be built to last

An MP says future schools must be built to last after concerns were raised over concrete.

More than 150 schools in England have been identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a substance posing a risk of collapse.

They include Pershore High School in Worcestershire, which has had to close a temporary building, used for drama lessons.

Worcester MP Robin Walker, chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, said issues were only raised in recent weeks.

Pershore High School has removed one of its buildings from use as it may be of RAAC construction

RAAC is a lightweight concrete that was used in roofs, floors and walls between the 1950s and 1990s, but as it is aerated, it is not as strong and only lasts for a limited amount of time.

While the government has been aware of the issue for decades, over the summer, an RAAC beam previously considered low risk reportedly collapsed at a site, leading to schools identified as having RAAC being labelled potentially dangerous.

Mr Walker added: "The conversations I have had with ministers are all about how we can avoid any unnecessary disruption to pupils.

"It would be much better if this decision could have been taken months before and before the summer break, because obviously [it would have been] much better if this work could have gone on before the summer break.

"But when I've quizzed the department on that, what they have said is that actually some of the events they are responding to, some of the information they had about the risk of that only came in in the last few weeks, it was very recent."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the timing was "frustrating"

Mr Walker said it was "essential" money was made available for the work.

"The key thing is the costs, because this is an emergency, the costs should absolutely be borne by the government," he said.

Education Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said the government "will spend what it takes" to make schools safe from crumbly concrete.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the timing of school closures was "frustrating" but the government worked as "swiftly as possible", adding it was ""utterly wrong" to blame him for the failure to tackle RAAC in schools earlier.

Mr Walker said "lessons have to be learned" from the situation.

"We have to make sure schools are built not with a 30 [year] lifespan or a 50-year lifespan , we have to make sure that, as the Victorian's did, schools are built to last," he added.