Amid mounting concerns about an apparent wider neglect of the schools estate in recent years, and beyond the immediate alarm about crumbling concrete panels, it emerged that of 500 schools planned for England over 10 years from 2020, just four were completed in 2021.
In another development, the Guardian has learned that the Treasury vetoed a push by the Department for Education (DfE) to use a £ibn underspend to rebuild hundreds of schools during Liz Truss's government.
The apparent disinclination of Treasury ministers to invest in new school buildings carries significant political risk for the prime minister, after it emerged that a DfE bid to rebuild as many as 400 schools a year was slashed to 50 when Rishi Sunak was the chancellor.
The schools rebuilding programme is not directly linked to the current turmoil over schools forced to close classrooms or buildings because of increased concerns about crumbling reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), though some of the work will be to replace Raac-constructed blocks.
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