Jeremy Hunt has insisted the government is doing "everything we can" to keep schools safe from a potentially dangerous type of concrete present in schools.
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More than 100 schools have been forced to close buildings due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Mr Hunt has insisted the government acted to keep schools safe as soon as problems were identified and said he wanted to reassure parents the government "will act...where there is an issue".
While at least 156 schools have been affected so far, the extent of the problem is not yet clear, with the Department for Education so far failing to publish a full list.
‘Ministers need to come clean about the full extent of this.’
Shadow Education Secretary @bphillipsonMP tells @IanPayneLBC that the 'crumbly concrete' RAAC has been a ‘known risk for some time’, adding that she isn’t confident all schools with the material have been identified. pic.twitter.com/2uYRNJfO7c
Labour's Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told LBC the government's response has been "completely unacceptable", urging the government to release a full list of affected schools.
“Here we are, 13 years on, we’re facing major problems…with crumbling schools and the potential for huge disruption to lots of our children at the start of the school term," Ms Phillipson told LBC.
"I think that’s completely unacceptable but I also believe ministers need to come clean about the full extent of all of this. We still don’t have a full list of schools that have been affected.
"I’m not sure we can be confident that they’ve captured all of the schools that have this crumbling concrete within them."
Jeremy Hunt has said the government is doing "everything we can" to keep schools safe.
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Getty
Asked whether he can reassure parents that their children are safe, Mr Hunt told Sky: "We are doing everything we can to make sure that is the case and we can absolutely promise that the government will take action immediately when we know there is any kind of risk."
RAAC was a common building material in the second half of the 20th century but it is feared to be prone to coming down, having been compared to the inside of an Aero bar.
Some schools will need to relocate to new accommodation while safety measures are taken, with some having their ceilings propped up.
The Department for Education (DfE) has so far failed to publish an official full list of schools with RAAC, though it is understood the following schools have been affected.
Full list of affected schools so far
Parks Primary School in Leicester .
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PA
Abbey Lane Primary School, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Arthur Bugler Primary School, Standford-le-Hope,Thurrock
The Appleton School, Essex
The Billericay School, Billericay, Essex
Buckhurst Hill Community Primary School, Essex
Canon Slade School, Bolton, Greater Manchester
Carmel College and Sixth Form, Darlington, County Durham
Clacton County High School, Clacton, Essex
Claydon High School, Ipswich, Suffolk
Cleeve Park School, Sidcup
Cockermouth School, Cockermouth, Cumbria
The Coopers' Company and Coburn School, Essex
Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Brixton, London
Cranbourne College, Basingstoke, Hampshire
Crossflatts Primary School, Bradford, West Yorkshire