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<p><ins class="ministerial">Nothing is more important than the safety of children
and staff, and it has always been the case that where the Department is made aware
a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken. The Department knows
how important it is for young people to be in classrooms with their friends and teachers,
but their safety must come first. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Department
has been talking to schools about the potential risks of RAAC since 2018 when it first
published a warning note with the Local Government Association. The Office of Government
Property wrote to all Government Property Leaders in 2019, and again in September
2022, highlighting safety alerts on RAAC and signposting guidance on identification
and remediation. The Government also created a cross-Government working group on RAAC
this year to collectively address the issue. Since then, Departments have been surveying
properties and depending on the assessment of the RAAC, decided to either continue
or monitor the structure, reinforce it, or replace it. This is in line with the approach
recommended by the Institution of Structural Engineers. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The
Department discovered details of three new cases over the summer, where RAAC that
would have been graded as non-critical had failed. The first of these was in a commercial
setting. The second was in a school in a different educational jurisdiction. It was
right to carefully consider the cases and scrutinise the technical details from these.
Departmental technical officials were able to investigate the situation in one case
where the plank that had failed was fully intact as it was resting on a steel beam
after it failed. They concluded that it would previously been rated non-critical.
Ministers were carefully considering the first two cases and advice from officials
when a third failure of a panel occurred, at a school in late August. The Department’s
technical officials also visited this school to investigate the failure.</ins></p><p><ins
class="ministerial">In light of all three cases, it was right to make the difficult
decision to change our guidance for education settings and take a more cautious approach
within the education estate in England. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Following
careful analysis of these recent cases, a precautionary and proactive step has been
taken to change the approach to RAAC in education settings ahead of the start of the
academic year, as outlined in our guidance. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Maintained
nursery schools are treated the same as schools and FE colleges. In 2022, the Department’s
questionnaire to all responsible bodies, including those who run maintained nursery
schools, asked them to provide information on RAAC.</ins></p><p><del class="ministerial">The
UK higher education (HE) system is amongst the best in the world. Attracting the brightest
students internationally is good for our universities and delivers growth at home.</del></p><p><del
class="ministerial">Domestic students continue to make up the vast majority of overall
undergraduate students within UK universities. The proportion of international acceptances
on results day this year was 12.3%, having been 14.7% at the same point in 2019.</del></p><p><del
class="ministerial">This year on A level and T level Results Day, 186,710 English-domiciled
18-year-olds were accepted to HE providers in England compared to 162,680 in 2019.</del></p><p><del
class="ministerial">Ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to access a world class
education remains a top priority and is fundamental to the department’s ambition to
level-up skills, growth, and economic opportunity across the country.</del></p><p><del
class="ministerial">As autonomous bodies independent from the government, universities
are responsible for their own recruitment decisions. Most universities have separate
home and international student recruitment targets, set before the admissions cycle
even begins. Universities plan their student numbers very carefully, not least because
there are important implications for the provision of student support and wellbeing
services, accommodation, and everything else needed to deliver the best student experience.</del></p><p><del
class="ministerial">The department and I regularly engage with the HE sector to support
policy making and delivery and did so throughout the 2023 cycle.</del></p><p><del
class="ministerial">Most recently, on 7 September 2023, I attended the Universities
UK annual conference and discussed how the government is supporting universities to
maximise their immense economic and social impact. Key topics discussed included degree
apprenticeships, the Lifelong Loan Entitlement and Horizon.</del></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
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