Schools minister Nick Gibb couldn’t handle the pressure when he was interrogated by Rob Rinder on .
The return to after the holidays has been cast into chaos for some families, as on Thursday the ordered more than 100 schools to partially or fully close.
This is due to the (Raac), which is at greater risk of sudden collapse.
The DfE has been considering RAAC as a potential issue since 2018, and on Friday’s GMB, minister Gibb was in the hot seat as he was questioned by Rinder and Charlotte Hawkins.
It didn’t take long for Rinder to bring up a clip of Gibb, speaking in parliament earlier in the year, ‘giving a commitment’ that they would publish information about at-risk properties before summer recess.
‘That hasn’t happened, has it?’ Hawkins asked flatly.
Gibb replied: ‘Well we will publish – look, this is – this issue is new, it emerged over the summer.’
Put to him again that he had made a commitment to publish that information before the summer and that it still hadn’t been done, he argued that it was ‘about something else.’
He said RAAC had been thought to have been safe, but it emerged over the summer that it no longer was, so they ‘took the very big decision [to close schools] over the summer.’
Rinder pointed out that the initial report ‘included Raac … so you thought it was safe and it’s no longer safe?’
‘Correct,’ Gibb responded. Leading Rinder to ask: ‘So when you made that statement in parliament, was it correct or incorrect?’
‘Well I can’t remember what that particular thing is about,’ Gibb insisted, with Rinder losing his patience and reminding him ‘it was about Raac, minister, it was about Raac! It’s what you said!’
It had previously been reported that schools were told they would have to fund their own emergency accommodation if buildings are closed, though schools minister Gibb denied this.
But on GMB, under pressure from Hawkins and Rinder, he said the government would cover ‘capital cost,’ for example temporary accommodation. But he admitted revenue cost such as transport would come on a ‘case by case basis’ for schools.
Rinder asked Gibb straight out if it was ‘time for you to resign,’ with Gibb staunchly saying it was not.
The exchange set Twitter, aka X, alight, with viewers flocking to the site to give their two cents, one saying Rinder was ‘soul destroying’ the schools minister.
‘Like having this Rob Rinder on #gmb … taking this minister apart,’ another said.’Lies and misdirection getting destroyed.’
‘Rob Rinder and Charlotte Hawkins currently handing Nick Gibbs his a**e on a plate,’ another cheered. ‘Absolutely wonderful.’
Some of the 104 affected schools may have to close completely, the DfE have said, while some children could be forced to return to Covid pandemic-style remote learning.
The state of England’s schools buildings were laid bare in a report in June by public spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO).
The report said 700,000 pupils were learning in schools that required major rebuilding or refurbishment.
What is RAAC?
RAAC is a lightweight building material used from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, but now assessed to be at risk of collapse.
It’s a ‘bubbly’ form of concrete usually found in roofs and occasionally in walls and floors.
It looks like normal concrete, but it’s weaker and less durable. RAAC was favoured in construction projects because of its lightweight thermal properties.
Experts say the building material is less durable than reinforced concrete and deteriorates over time, so is susceptible to sudden failure.
It has a life expectancy of little more than 30 years and this means buildings constructed from the 1950s to the 1990s that have not been checked by structural engineers are at risk of collapse.
RAAC is also prone to collapse when wet – which can happen if a building’s roof leaks.
