Three-quarters of the schools in England listed by the government as being affected by the schools concrete crisis are in Conservative-held areas, it has emerged.
As education secretary, Gillian Keegan, and Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, continued to come under fire over their handling of the problem, the fallout for members of the government was also underlined by the fact that 36 of the schools are in the seats of government frontbenchers, including 13 cabinet members.
An estimated 100,000 students attend the 147 named schools confirmed by the government as having collapse-prone reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) onsite, a Guardian analysis found.
Close to one in 10 – 9,858 pupils – are facing a delay to the start of the school term as a result of the issue, according to a Guardian analysis of the list, which indicated that 24 schools across England will receive some remote learning because of the crisis.
Essex county council has more affected schools than any other local authority, with 53 on the list, accounting for more than 30,000 students, close to a third of all affected pupils.
Of the 147 schools, 109 are in constituencies with Conservative MPs.
Eight schools in the business secretary, Kemi Badenoch’s, Saffron Walden constituency in Essex are affected – seven primaries and one secondary.
The Liberal Democrat education spokesperson, Munira Wilson, said: “These damning figures show that Conservative ministers have been asleep at the wheel while school buildings crumble in their own back yards.”
Tory Essex MPs speaking out included the former cabinet minister Priti Patel, who used prime minister’s questions to ask Sunak to commit “to fully funding both the capital and revenue costs that are associated with getting children back into school”.
She later told Keegan that her county council would be “sending an invoice” to the Department for Education (DfE) for costs that it was covering in the interim.
The figures of the number of schools affected by the Raac crisis, published on the DfE website shortly before Sunak appeared at PMQs, referred to state-funded schools, maintained nursery schools and further education (FE) colleges in England.
The list showed 82 primary schools and 65 secondary schools and other post-16 institutions.
Analysis by the Guardian found that the cost of fixing secondary schools is likely to be as much as three times higher in primary schools because they are considerably larger.
Although there are nine fewer schools on the list than previously announced, Wednesday’s figures could add tens of millions to previous estimates showing the bill already approaching £150m.
On Wednesday evening, Labour failed in its bid to force the publication of advice Sunak had been given over funding for school repairs when he was chancellor. Its motion was defeated 309 to 134.
In Scotland, the Raac crisis has affected 35 primary and secondary schools, with some buildings shut over safety concerns, and councils facing multimillion pound repair bills, according to a list published by the Scottish government on Wednesday.
Pupils and staff at some sites have been forced to use portable classrooms or other venues, or revert to online learning strategies developed during the Covid pandemic, and some PE blocks and ancillary rooms have been closed.
One school in West Lothian was closed in November last year, and children moved to nearby primary schools while Raac panels were replaced. Two primaries in Edinburgh have closed classrooms while remedial work was undertaken.
Inspections have been under way since 2018, and experts said disruption was likely to be minimal.
In Wales, two schools on Anglesey had been identified as having Raac and would temporarily close for inspections, the Welsh government said on Monday, adding that it expected the results of inspections across Wales within the next two weeks.
