The Treasury rejected attempts to secure funding for the full 10 years of the current school rebuilding programme amid concern about RAAC, a former minister has claimed. Lord Agnew, who as academies minister between 2017 and 2020 was responsible for school capital spending, told GB News he had 鈥減robably 10 meetings with the Treasury鈥� to try to 鈥済et them to give me a long-term envelope鈥� but 鈥渢hey wouldn鈥檛 do it鈥�. The claims will put further pressure on the government amid criticism of inaction over the dangers of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in the school estate, which has now resulted in the partial closure of at least 147 schools. Rishi Sunak was accused last week of cutting school rebuilding funding despite warnings over a “critical risk to life” when he was chancellor by former DfE boss Jonathan Slater. The prime minister presided over the announcement of the rebuilding programme in 2020, and according to Slater made the decision to only rebuild around 50 schools a year. Schools Week revealed last week how dozens of schools with RAAC had either had planned rebuilds scrapped or bids for work rejected over the past 10 years. In 2020, then prime minister Boris Johnson . Under the scheme, 500 schools are due to be fully or partially re-built over the coming decade. Initial funding of 拢1 billion for the first tranche of schools was announced, but future funding has not been confirmed by the government. ‘They wouldn’t do it’ Agnew, who subsequently served as a Treasury minister before resigning last year over the government鈥檚 handling of Covid business loan fraud, said he told the Treasury to 鈥済ive me a 10 year envelope of money鈥�. Rishi Sunak 鈥淸It] doesn鈥檛 have to be any more, but then I can go out to the building industry and say 鈥榟ere is a 10 year programme so that you can tool up for dealing with these refurbishments鈥�. They wouldn鈥檛 do it. 鈥淭hey said it has to sit within the spending review, but I said to them 鈥榳ell are we not going to have any schools at the end of the spending review?鈥� I said 鈥榳hat鈥檚 going to happen at the end of the year or the three-year spending review?鈥� And of course they don鈥檛 have any answer.鈥� Schools Week revealed last week that ten schools with RAAC had applications to the new rebuilding programme rejected. Agnew said RAAC had been 鈥渙n the agenda for years鈥� and questioned why government waited until the last week of the school holidays to take action. 鈥淭hey could have done it at the beginning of the holidays couldn鈥檛 they?鈥� The Treasury was approached for comment.