Dear Editor,

WHILE I appreciate that Harlow Labour must make themselves heard, I wish that for once, they would do the honourable thing and put aside party politics and instead, like Robert Halfon is doing, focus on supporting the affected Harlow schools, parents and children to put their safety and needs above his own interests.

As Mr Halfon outlined in his previous statement, the issue of RAAC has been around since 1994 – during the majority of the period when successive Labour Governments were in power, yet nothing was done. It is only this Government who have been closely monitoring the condition of school buildings, continually assessing new information and evidence about RAAC across the school estate to make sure the correct support is in place. Over 50 settings have already been supported to put mitigations in place and over £15 billion of funding has been provided since 2015 to support the school estate 

As Cllr Chris Vince ought to know, recent cases of RAAC identified in July has meant the Government has had to act swiftly to change the assessment of the risk that RAAC poses to building safety. Even before this, the DfE have been conducting surveys with schools and have taken further evidence from engineers on the challenges posed by RAAC. Unlike Harlow Labour who continue to play politics, this Government has acted swiftly, and with an abundance of caution to prioritise the safety of all pupils and staff in these affected buildings.  

Rather than point the finger and not help those people affected, perhaps he would do well to remember that Labour’s Government in Wales have taken no action whatsoever to support schools and buildings affected with RAAC in the region. If this is the direction of travel that a Labour Government would take, then I fear for the future of our public buildings. 

I know it is upsetting for parents and children, as well as the incredible teachers and support staff at the affected schools but it is right that the Government has acted swiftly and decisively to ensure that the safety of pupils and staff in these buildings remains the number one priority for the Department. Robert has already been speaking with parents, and most fair-minded people want politicians to put politics aside and come together. This is what Robert wants to do, it’s just sad to see that Labour’s Chris Vince will not. 

Like Mr Halfon, Harlow Council will continue to do everything possible to support schools to put in place mitigation plans and return children to face-to-face learning as soon as possible. I just wish Cllr Vince would choose to do the same. 

Yours faithfully,

Cllr Dan Swords, Leader of Harlow District Council