UK gov't sends mixed messages on funding to fix crumbling school concrete

Top officials have sent mixed messages on how the United Kingdom (UK) government will fund the repair of a type of concrete used in many school buildings in the country that is prone to crumbling, reported Xinhua.

More than one hundred schools across the country have recently been told by the Department for Education (DfE) to shut buildings that have walls with dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). This has elicited discontent among head teachers and parents as the closures would affect students' schooling as they return from summer holidays.

RAAC is a lightweight concrete that was used in roofs, floors and walls between the 1950s and 1990s, the DfE said. It is considered less durable than traditional concrete and engineers have warned that the material is at risk of cracking, spalling and crumbling.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt told the BBC on Sunday that he would not speculate on the potential cost of fixing the problem and would "spend what it takes to make sure children can go to school safely." But hours later, the country's Treasury sources to reporters that any such funding will come from the DfE's existing budget for buildings, not from additional funds.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said the concrete crisis will likely cost "many, many millions" of British pounds.

On Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested that extra money will be made available to schools to cover the costs of RAAC mitigation measures.

"The chancellor has been crystal clear that schools will be given extra money for these mitigations, it won't come from their existing school budgets," the prime minister told reporters in Downing Street.

Sunak's comment came after Jonathan Slater, who was permanent secretary at the DfE from May 2016 to August 2020, claimed the Treasury cut the funding for school rebuilding schemes in 2021 -- including during Sunak's time as chancellor.