Jeremy Hunt insists ministers acted quickly in the face of the crumbling school crisis, despite warnings from years ago.

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The Chancellor insisted ministers were acting on crumbling schools at risk of collapse because they had been told of the dangers, despite evidence the government had been warned years ago.
Jeremy Hunt on Sunday denied that the government's austerity program was to blame for the state of buildings, while Labor accused the Tories of " negligence”.
More than 100 schools are facing the closure of buildings made of potentially dangerous materials. aerated concrete panels before the start of the new school year this week.
Other public buildings such as hospitals and courts would also be at risk, while the number of schools affected could also increase as controls are done.
When asked if he accepted that decisions to cut public investment were to blame, Mr Hunt replied: “No”, although he said the last government was “ strapped for money" and left the new administration with "tough decisions".
"As soon as we found out there were problems, we acted on them," he said. he told the BBC.
One of the first acts of David Cameron's government in 2010 was to cancel Gordon Brown's Building Schools for the Future scheme, which aimed to renew the school stock.
Questioned on the accuracy of suggestions that up to 7,000 schools could be affected, Mr Hunt replied: 'I don't want to speculate on those numbers as I think it might scare people unnecessarily people.”
The Chancellor said he would “spend what it takes” to make schools safer.
p>On Sunday, a whistleblower from the Ministry of Education who worked in the private cabinet of Nadhim Zahawi, then Secretary of Education, claimed that regular alerts passed through the offices of ministers.
They are Observer > that ministers and special advisers were “trying to spend as little as possible” and that they had seen at least four detailed warnings about “reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete” in the space of a few months at the start of 2022.
< p>Meanwhile, i newspaper reports that the Ministry of Education was warned four years ago by structural engineers that schools built of concrete could collapse without warning.
Some parts of some schools have been recorded

Politics Sep 4, 2023 0 49 Add to Reading List

Jeremy Hunt insists ministers acted quickly in the face of the crumbling school crisis, despite warnings from years ago.

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The Chancellor insisted ministers were acting on crumbling schools at risk of collapse because they had been told of the dangers, despite evidence the government had been warned years ago.

Jeremy Hunt on Sunday denied that the government's austerity program was to blame for the state of buildings, while Labor accused the Tories of " negligence”.

More than 100 schools are facing the closure of buildings made of potentially dangerous materials. aerated concrete panels before the start of the new school year this week.

Other public buildings such as hospitals and courts would also be at risk, while the number of schools affected could also increase as controls are done.

When asked if he accepted that decisions to cut public investment were to blame, Mr Hunt replied: “No”, although he said the last government was “ strapped for money" and left the new administration with "tough decisions".

"As soon as we found out there were problems, we acted on them," he said. he told the BBC.

One of the first acts of David Cameron's government in 2010 was to cancel Gordon Brown's Building Schools for the Future scheme, which aimed to renew the school stock.

Questioned on the accuracy of suggestions that up to 7,000 schools could be affected, Mr Hunt replied: 'I don't want to speculate on those numbers as I think it might scare people unnecessarily people.”

The Chancellor said he would “spend what it takes” to make schools safer.

p>On Sunday, a whistleblower from the Ministry of Education who worked in the private cabinet of Nadhim Zahawi, then Secretary of Education, claimed that regular alerts passed through the offices of ministers.

They are Observer > that ministers and special advisers were “trying to spend as little as possible” and that they had seen at least four detailed warnings about “reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete” in the space of a few months at the start of 2022.

< p>Meanwhile, i newspaper reports that the Ministry of Education was warned four years ago by structural engineers that schools built of concrete could collapse without warning.

Some parts of some schools have been recorded