A minister revealed Rishi Sunak rejected funding for the construction of 200 schools as fears around school safety escalate.
Schools minister Nick Gibb said on Tuesday that the prime minister had gone with other priorities over a request to increase funding to fix schools in England.
The Department for Education (DfE) admitted just four schools have been rebuilt so far under plans to overhaul 500 sites by 2030 that Sunak used to defend claims he had cut funding for new facilities.
It follows the partial and full closure of more than 100 schools over concerns raised about the safety of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) just days before pupils were due to return to school from the summer.
The material, which has an approximate lifespan of 30 years, is described as resembling Aero chocolate due to it’s bubbly texture and was identified as a safety risk in 2018 following the collapse of a school roof in Kent in 2018.
The exact number of schools impacted by the dangerous material is still unknown as some education facilities have still not informed the government if they suspect their buildings contain RAAC.
The prime minister is under mounting pressure following claims from a former senior civil servant he refused to fully fund a programme to rebuild England’s crumbling schools when he was chancellor.
Jonathan Slater, who served as permanent secretary at the department from May 2016 to August 2020, said he was “absolutely amazed” that decision was made by the Treasury to slash the government budget for school repairs by half in 2021.
Slater said that up to 400 schools a year required replacement but that funding was given for just 100.
It’s a claim Sunak denies, telling reporters on Monday that the attack on his record was “completely and utterly wrong”.
Gibb claimed he did not recognise the 400 figure but admitted that the DfE asked for funding to overhaul 200 schools a year in 2021, only for the prime minister to agree funding for 50 a year.
He told Sky News: “We put in a bid for 200, but what Rishi agreed to was to continue the rebuilding programme with 50 a year, consistent with what we’d been doing since we came into office.
“Of course we put in a bid for 200, but of course the Treasury then has to compare that with all the other priorities from right across Whitehall, from the health service, defence, and so on.”
Sunak has pointed to the programme to rebuild 500 schools as “one of the first things I did as chancellor” as he sought to defend himself from Mr Slater’s allegations.
A DfE spokeswoman said: “We have committed to rebuilding 500 schools under the schools rebuilding programme between 2020 and 2030 and are on track to deliver that commitment.”
Downing Street however insisted it was not the only scheme tasked with fixing schools, saying in total 72 were completed in 2021 and 47 the following year.
Related: Sunak blamed by former official over school rebuilding costs