Weston-super-Mare's Conservative MP votes to cover up school concrete crisis

John Penrose, Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare, has voted to block the publication of spending requested by the Department for Education to fix RAAC school roofs, amid revelations that funding requests were blocked by Rishi Sunak during his time as Chancellor. 

The Liberal Democrats voted for the motion and have been pressuring the government to be transparent about their funding decisions when it comes to school maintenance. 

Patrick Keating, Lib Dem party spokesperson for Weston and the villages, has slammed the Conservative MP for their “utter contempt” for Weston's constituents after he voted to cover up the thinking behind the government’s decision to underinvest in school maintenance. 

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Weston-super-Mare, Cllr Patrick Keating, said:

“Parents in our Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding towns and villages deserve to know  the truth about the safety of their children in school. We need to have full transparency from the government over what led us to this point.

“How else can we fully understand the situation if the government hides the facts? Yet again it feels like we are being left in the dark and taken for granted by Conservative Ministers. 

“For Mr Penrose to not want to see this information made public speaks volumes.

“They would rather see Rishi Sunak and the government cover up their underfunding of schools than allow their constituents to understand how we got into this crisis. It shows their utter contempt for the constituents of Weston-super-Mare and we deserve better.”

The voting list for the motion can be found here.