Evening summary
Here is a round-up of the day’s main headlines:
More schools could be told they need to immediately shut classrooms because they are fitted with a concrete that could suddenly collapse, the schools minister has admitted. Nick Gibb said on Friday that a collapse over the summer of a beam that had been considered safe sparked an urgent rethink on whether buildings with the aerated concrete could remain open. Though not confirmed, it is estimated that around 24 schools in England have been told to close entirely because of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the PA news agency understands.
The warning that school buildings made from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) could be unsafe or face closure was prompted by a beam collapse, Gibb said. He said a beam at a school, previously thought to be no risk, collapsed during the summer.
The government will cover “all capital costs” over any disruption to educational buildings caused by concerns from the use of concrete prone to collapse, Gibb added. Asked on Sky News who will pay if schools need to either fully or partially relocate, he said: “We will pay for that. We’ve made it very clear we will cover all capital costs. “So if in the worst-case scenario, we need Portacabins in the school estate for an alternative accommodation, we will cover all those costs. So there has been some speculation that we won’t cover those costs. We absolutely will.”
Labour has renewed calls for the government to publish a full list of schools affected by crumbling concrete and have called for an urgent investigation into which other public buildings – such as hospitals, courts and prisons – are affected. Steve Reed, the shadow justice secretary, said on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: “After 13 years of Conservative failure, the fabric of our public sector is literally crumbling.”
Scottish ministers are being urged to take the risk of school building collapse seriously amidst claims they have pushed responsibility for fixing potentially fatal problems onto already cash-strapped local councils. In June, the Scottish Liberal Democrats revealed through FOI work that RAAC was present in 37 schools across Scotland, and then in July the Scottish health secretary, Michael Matheson, confirmed that health boards had identified 254 buildings with likely RAAC.
All NHS trusts should have access to the necessary funding to replace concrete that has been deemed unsafe “as soon as possible”, a health chief has said. The government has committed to rebuilding seven hospitals most affected by RAAC by 2030, PA Media reports. The lightweight material was used in public buildings from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, but is now assessed to be at risk of collapse.
Two schools in the north-east of England are among those unable to open for the new autumn term. Ferryhill chool in County Durham confirmed in an email that two of its buildings are affected by potentially dangerous RAAC and cannot open on Tuesday as planned, the Northern Echo reports.
Earlier, the schools minister, Nick Gibb, said the government had taken action on the issue of crumble-risk concrete in schools “as soon as the evidence emerged” (see 7.48am) that it might be a safety risk. However, Hansard shows shows that this very issue was debated in parliament back in June.
The Home Office has placed more than 100 lone asylum-seeker children in hotels in recent weeks, despite the practice having been found unlawful by the high court. The government’s continued use of hotels has been condemned by human rights and refugee organisations since more than 200 children have gone missing, including dozens who vanished from one hotel in Brighton.
The UK could pull out of the international energy charter treaty if attempts to reform it fail, the energy minister, Graham Stuart, has said. The energy charter treaty (ECT) is a system of secret courts that enables companies to sue governments over policies that would cut their future profits. Companies have sued over phasing out coal-fired power stations, ending offshore oil drilling and banning fracking, with some receiving large taxpayer-funded payouts.
The Liberal Democrats will try to force the Conservative party to hold the Mid Bedfordshire byelection at the start of October. With parliament scheduled to reconvene on Monday, concerns have arisen that the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, might postpone the byelection in Nadine Dorries’ former seat to avoid scheduling conflicts with the Conservative party conference.
The average number of people in each small boat crossing the Channel has hit a new monthly high, figures show, indicating the use of larger vessels. In August, 5,369 people crossed the Channel in 102 boats, which equates to an average of about 53 a vessel. Analysis of provisional government data by PA Media shows this is the highest monthly average since records began in 2018.
Theresa May has expressed regret for using the term “hostile environment” and has criticised Home Office staff for an “inbuilt cynicism” she believes contributed to the Windrush scandal. May devotes a chapter to the scandal, which unfolded while she was prime minister, in her forthcoming memoir, The Abuse of Power. She concludes that it was an abuse of power and describes the treatment of the Windrush generation who were wrongly classified as illegal immigrants as “shocking”.
Rishi Sunak’s top spin doctor in Downing Street has quit after less than a year in the job. Amber de Botton, who had a decade-long career as a broadcast journalist, was hired by the prime minister as his director of communications a few days after he entered Downing Street.
A former UK environment secretary is to take a consultancy role with a waste management firm that had to pay £36,000 after an Environment Agency (EA) investigation found contamination of groundwater at a site. George Eustice, who was the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs from February 2020 until September 2022, is joining Augean, a waste treatment company with sites across the UK.
The Aslef general secretary, Mick Whelan, has criticised the appointment of the former transport secretary Grant Shapps as defence secretary. Shapps clashed with union leaders while in the transport brief and Whelan, standing at a picket line in Euston, north London, joked of the appointment: “I keep looking at the skies waiting for the missiles to rain down. He’s had five departments in 12 months, I’m not sure if that’s a ringing endorsement or an indictment.”
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the UK politics live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Updated
When Liz Truss addressed the nation from Downing Street in her first speech as prime minister, she promised “action this day, and action every day”. It was meant to be a Churchillian call to arms demonstrating her determination to solve the intractable issues facing Britain. Instead, it foreshadowed the most chaotic period in recent political history.
As the sole survivor through the cabinets of the three previous Conservative-led governments, Truss was used to putting pragmatism above principles. But that approach was cast aside when she swept in to No 10.
In her first week in office, an aide suggested she should “be like Blair” and avoid immediately rocking the boat. He was slapped down. Truss told him to stop talking – and the aide was said to have been cut out of further meetings.
Such single-mindedness quickly collided headlong with the realities of government. With an inexperienced team in No 10, and a divided party, the foundations of her administration were shaky from the start. Within 49 extraordinary days, it had fallen apart.
