Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Require DfE to provide a detailed assessment of the RAAC problem, plan, and associated costs.
Conclusion
There remains a lack of transparency for schools, parents and communities on where RAAC exists and how long it will take to be fixed. DfE was unable to provide answers to important questions such as how many specialist surveys to confirm RAAC are outstanding and likely to be carried out, or how many pupils were affected by RAAC-related school closures at the start of the 2023–24 school year. DfE says it is looking to release information in a managed and routine way as it does for other management information. After our evidence session DfE reported on 19 October that RAAC had at that point been confirmed in 214 educational settings, of which 202 were providing face-to-face education for all pupils. Despite suggestions in early September that the RAAC situation would be resolved in a matter of weeks, DfE is aware that some cases are too complicated to be dealt with in this timeframe, and that some schools will not even be identified as having RAAC until later. Recommendation 4: DfE must write to the Committee, alongside its Treasury Minute response, with its latest assessment of the scale of the RAAC problem, its overall plan to deal with it, and the likely associated costs.
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation and committed to writing to the Committee alongside the Treasury Minute publication with an assessment of the RAAC problem, its plan, and associated costs.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 The department will write to the Committee alongside publication of the Treasury Minute.