Treasury to 'spending whatever it takes' to rebuild collapsing schools

Jeremy Hunt told Sky News' Trevor Phillips that the government is doing everything it can to make schools safer for kids. Photo: Zara Farrar/HM Treasury

Jeremy Hunt has vowed to 'spending whatever it takes' to deal with the concrete destruction scandal in England's schools.

The chancellor said the Treasury would allocate all the necessary money to ensure that “children can go to school safely.”

He denied that any return to closed schools would be something of a lockdown, as most buildings would only be partially and for a short period closed.

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This follows reports that more than 100 schools may have to postpone their reopening after the summer break due to the availability of autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

The Treasury said repairs would be paid for with unallocated funds. funds for schools within existing departmental budgets.

"We will spend whatever is necessary to ensure children can go to school safely"

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says that the government «will not take any risk» with child safety amid concerns over structural issues in school buildings https://t.co/H5cHGUu3Es pic.twitter.com/x07QNZqCbe

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) September 3, 2023

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday with Laura Kuensberg, Mr Hunt said: «I understand the frustration, but I would tell each of these families that we acted quickly when the problem first arose.

«But then what happened during the summer months was that buildings that had been inspected and classified as safe changed the look and we got advice that this might not be the case. The Minister of Education reacted immediately.”

He added: “As chancellor, I want to tell parents that we will spend whatever is necessary to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. We will spend whatever it takes to ensure that children can safely go to school.

«We will not take risks because it is too important, and the safety of children is our number one priority.»

Like the Concrete of the classroom may be in danger of collapsing

When asked on Sky News Sunday morning with Trevor Phillips if parents can be sure their child will be safe, Mr Hunt said: “We are doing everything we can to make sure this. . We can absolutely promise that the government will immediately take action as soon as we become aware of the presence of any risk.”

He added: “We have 22,000 schools in the country and a huge program has been implemented since this incident. . going through the RAAC/asbestos issue because we want to be absolutely sure that every child is safe.

“And then once we have information about any risk, we will make sure that something This was done to mitigate this risk. risk.