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Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Catherine McKinnell (Labour). It was answered on Monday, 11 December 2023 on behalf of the Department for Education.

School Funding: County Durham

Question

I, too, welcome the Minister to his place.

On Friday, I joined Labour’s candidate Alan Strickland on a visit to Ferryhill School in County Durham. The staff team and students are amazing, but staff are left teaching in portacabins, the dining room and the sports hall, the staff room is behind a curtain on a stage, and years 10 and 11 are in a different town. Last week, yet more schools were added to the list of those with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and the Secretary of State could not confirm how many will need complete rebuilds. Given the urgency, can the Minister tell parents, children and staff when this chaos will end?

Answer

Mr Speaker, allow me to take this moment to pay tribute to all school staff, leaders, children and their families, who have shown great fortitude in dealing with the disruption caused by RAAC. We have moved quickly to make sure all schools with suspected RAAC are surveyed and to work with schools to put in place alternative arrangements. Of course none of that is perfect, but schools have shown great flexibility in working towards that, such that we now have 99% of affected schools back with full-time face-to-face education.

Secondary information

Type
Oral question
Reference
742 c594 
Session
2023-24
Oral question type
Supplementary
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Finance Schools County Durham
Link
View this Oral question on hansard.parliament.uk