Lib Dems Claim Guildford’s MP Voted for ‘Concrete Cover-up’

Published on: 26 Oct, 2023
Updated on: 28 Oct, 2023

Zoe Franklin and Angela Richardson MP

By Martin Giles

Guildford’s MP Angela Richardson voted for a “concrete cover-up”, according to the Liberal Democrat’s Parliamentary candidate Zoe Franklin.

Conservative MP Richardson voted against a Liberal Democrat call for the government to publish a full list  list of schools and hospitals affected by failing RAAC concrete following news that buildings at the Royal Surrey County Hospital and a Guildford School were affected affected by autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

See: RAAC Concrete Found at Kings College

The Liberal Democrat amendment to the Levelling Up Bill was intended to force the government to publish a full register of schools and hospitals across the country which are in a state of serious disrepair within one month of the bill’s passing, and regularly updated on a three-month basis.

Kings College, a Guildford School that has been affected by the discovery of RAAC

But the Guildford MP said the list of schools and hospitals across the country which are affected by RAAC was made publicly available by the government in September 2023.

She said: “Whilst it is concerning to learn about the schools where presence of RAAC has been confirmed, the government is focusing on dealing with the issue. The Department for Education is allocating a caseworker for every school with confirmed RAAC, emergency funding for mitigation work will be available, along with additional measures.

“I will continue to keep myself updated as to the situation regarding Kings College.

“Residents can be assured that fewer than one per cent of education settings have confirmed cases of RAAC.

“My sole focus is delivering for Guildford each day and getting results for constituents. I am accountable to residents of Guildford and our villages and I will continue to focus on our priorities.’

Zöe Franklin, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Guildford, said: “For me, this is a simple principle of openness and transparency. It’s shameful that Ms Richardson voted to cover-up information and hide it from her constituents.

“It’s all the more insulting to us, since just days after the vote, it was revealed Guildford’s Kings College school, and areas of the Royal Surrey Hospital, have been found to be affected by RAAC.

“In voting against the Liberal Democrat amendment, our Conservative MP, Angela Richardson, is complicit in a concrete cover-up.”

In August, the Government found itself engulfed in the RAAC crisis, which forced schools to close days before returning from their summer break.

Despite this, 301 Conservative MPs including Angela Richardson voted (Tuesday 17 October) to cover up the full list of schools and hospitals that could follow suit, and hide important information about the state of buildings from the public.

It follows Rishi Sunak blocking plans to rebuild hospitals and rejecting pleas by Department of Education officials for an extra £900 million a year for school funding in the 2021 Spending Review during his tenure as Chancellor.

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