Rishi Sunak was warned two years ago of a 'critical risk to life' during the school concrete crisis

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Former education ministry chief has warned children in Rishi Sunak face 'critical risk to their lives' due to crumbling schools, but he was denied the funding needed to fix them.

Jonathan Slater said officials were aware of the need to rebuild between 300 and 400 schools a year when Mr Sunak was Chancellor.< /p>

But despite the warning that concrete blocks falling from roofs "were not just a risk, it was starting to happen", the ministry only received the funding needed to replace 100 buildings with an.

"It was frustrating," Mr Slater told the BBC.

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The former Mandarin said that Mr. Sunak then cut funding for the program in half, bringing the level down to just 50 a year in his fall 2021 spending review.

Mr. Slater, who was permanent. secretary in the Ministry of Education from 2016 to 2020, said he carried out a survey ten years ago on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in schools.

“A second survey was commissioned in my time, and we “We found that the backlog in repairs had increased,” he added.

Mr. Slater said officials "knew what was needed" and called for an "appropriate program of school reconstruction" to avoid situations such as the current crisis.< /p>

But despite the Prime Minister's will Boris Johnson to invest more money in schools and the quality of data illustrating the problem, the department received only a quarter of what it needed.

" We are not saying only that there is a significant risk of death, we say there is a critical risk of life," Slater said.

He added: "The absolute political priority in building schools when I was the permanent secretary opening new free schools.

“That's what the Conservative Party put at the heart of its 2015 manifesto.

"For me as a manager it seemed like it should have come after security, but politics is about choice, and that's the choice they made.

A year after leaving the department, Slater said he was "absolutely amazed" to see the early rebuilding program reduced from 100 schools a year to 50.

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Mr Slater's shocking intervention comes as millions of pupils return to school this week despite fears that 'thousands' more buildings are at risk of collapsing due to the collapse concrete.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Sunday declined to specify the number of buildings affected, dismissing accusations that...