 had been acting on information 'that was relevant to them'. He said: 'DfE have acted exactly correctly in response to new information that was relevant to them. And that's why we're doing what we're doing, and we will ensure the safety of children and these buildings, and that's why we put in place a very rapid process to do that. We're providing lots of support to schools so that we can mitigate these things as quickly as possible, minimise the disruption of children's education. 'But the professional advice from the independent bodies on Raac remains as it is. Departments individually will follow that advice as it relates to their particular estate. And indeed, that's what the professional advice from the institute says. It is very specific to the circumstances of individual buildings, and how in particular they can be monitored and assessed. You can find that in the advice. 'Each department for its estate has a programme, for example, the NHS has been for years looking at this and has a mitigation programme in place which is funded with £700 million already. We've already moved seven hospitals that are particularly affected into the new hospital programme. They will be all sorted by 2030. Each department will have its own particular way of dealing with it and following the technical guidance that is there. 'The Chancellor has been very clear that we will provide the funding for schools for these mitigations. The Chancellor made that clear and I reiterated it the other day.' The Government has named 147 schools where buildings are thought to contain Raac, a lightweight material that was used in construction between the 1950s and the mid 1990s. However the scale of affected schools is thought to be far wider. At least one primary school has take){kind=link}
But Rishi Sunak defended Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, for previously ordering closure of some schools
Rishi Sunak has warned against an over-cautious response to the Raac concrete saga in buildings other than schools.
The Prime Minister said that Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, had acted “exactly correctly” by ordering the closure of some schools because of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).
But he said that the closures were on the basis of information that was specifically relevant to schools, and that guidance on Raac in other buildings “remains as it is”.
A Government source said that ministers wanted to avoid an “alarmist” approach that results in a “contagion” whereby many other types of buildings are closed unnecessarily.