Lib Dems: Government is flying blind on school safety

The government does not have sufficient information to manage “critical” risks to the safety of pupils and staff arising from a deterioration in the condition of school buildings, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned.

In the report, published on the 28th June, the NAO have highlighted that around 24,000 school buildings are beyond their estimated initial design life. 

That is 1 in 3. 

Earlier this year local Lib Dem campaigner, Tom Gordon slammed Conservative MP’s for voting to hide the detailed data on crumbling school buildings across the country. 

Commenting Tom said “Parents have a right to know that their child is safe at school. Yet this report shows that hundreds of thousands of children are learning in crumbling school buildings. To make matters worse, the Government is flying blind without a clue about how many schools pose a danger to our children.In May, the Government announced £450 million in extra funding to upgrade school buildings across the country, including projects at Rossett School and Bilton Grange Primary. 

“I welcome this much needed investment into our local schools, but without sight of the full data we cannot possibly even start to grasp the scale and seriousness of the issue. Staff, children & parents, all should have the right to know that the classrooms they are going into are fit for purpose. In dozens of communities, crumbling school buildings stand as concrete signs that the Conservatives have taken their area for granted. Liberal Democrats would invest in our schools urgently to remove RAAC where it is a risk to life and clear the backlog of school repairs.”