Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school classrooms were closed due to maintenance and structural issues in the most recent 12-month period for which data are available.

Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.

It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day to day basis, to manage the maintenance of their schools. The Department does not therefore hold information on the number of buildings closed due to maintenance and structural issues.

The Department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in schools and colleges at the heart of its policy decisions. The Government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.