Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the total of additional resources allocated to deal with the problems created in schools by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

An updated list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC as at 16 October 2023 was published on 19 October 2023 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information. This link contains a summary of the number of schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC and the status of education in place at these schools and colleges at the specified date.

Every school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated support from the department’s team of 80 caseworkers. Each school’s dedicated caseworker will support them to put in place a bespoke mitigation plan, and this will ensure that each school and college receives the support that suits their circumstances. The department has placed contracts with multiple suppliers of temporary accommodation to get to site quickly for emergency provision and is confident that it has sufficient supply of them to meet need. The department will support schools if there are any site-specific issues that need resolving in order to install temporary accommodation.

The department supports schools and colleges in a number of ways. This includes significant capital funding and providing guidance and support to help schools and responsible bodies manage their buildings effectively. On RAAC, the department will spend whatever it takes to keep children safe.

The government is funding the emergency work needed to mitigate the presence of RAAC, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. All reasonable requests for additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall, are being approved. The government is funding longer-term refurbishment or rebuilding projects to address the presence of RAAC in schools. Schools and colleges will either be offered capital grants to fund refurbishment work to permanently remove RAAC, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through the school rebuilding programme. The department is working closely with responsible bodies to assess what the right solution is for each case.