Commenting on the latest Government update on RAAC-affected
schools and plans to deal with removal, Daniel Kebede,
General Secretary of the National Education Union,
said:
"This Government's sense of urgency over RAAC has been wholly
lacking. They need to keep the public informed, to demonstrate
that surveys are still going on - which is not achieved when
updates are published months apart. The Chancellor promised to
'spend what it takes', and then provided nothing in his autumn
statement. Only today is the Education Secretary sending
confirmation to schools and colleges on how removal will be
funded. We welcome the fact they are going to do the work, but
there is no new money in this announcement.
"It will take years for the worst affected schools to be dealt
with. It is now clear that, after all the bluster, the Government
will turn to existing school rebuilding funds to deal with the
full list of affected schools. That means children still being
taught in temporary classrooms and education still being severely
disrupted. This is exactly what the NEU warned against when the
Government belatedly woke up to the RAAC issue in September. If
the Chancellor had been true to his word back in September, and
committed money, then this could all have been dealt with in a
much more timely fashion.
"Given the scheme is limited to just 500 schools in a decade, we
are concerned not only about the pace of rebuilding but the
implications for schools still waiting to get on the list,
including the 80% of schools affected by asbestos, as well as
those with other long-term structural problems. The Department
for Education will now have less money in its capital spending
and maintenance budgets to afford these much-needed works. A pace
of delivery averaging just 50 schools per year is clearly not
enough.
"On Monday, said that she would 'never
regret' her actions on RAAC. Well, she should. It is symbolic of
a Government so lacking in seriousness about education that it is
willing to underfund and underdeliver. It is a poverty of
ambition, with real life consequences for children across the
country. This education secretary will resort to any lengths to
paper over the cracks in an attempt to conceal this Government's
shameful legacy of decline and decay in our school
buildings."
