One of the most important duties of a government is to protect its citizens. This includes the conventional ways we think of, such as providing a well-equipped armed forces and responsive local police force, but also ensuring that public buildings like schools and hospitals are maintained properly.

This issue has come to the forefront in recent days with the revelations about the true scale of the problem posed by RAAC (Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete). This is a lighter form of concrete, often used in construction during the 1950s and 60s, that has a much shorter lifespan than regular concrete.

As a result, buildings built using this material degrade faster and need replacing much sooner. This has reached literal breaking point this week as the government has finally accepted the huge danger posed due to the number of schools still using buildings built with this material.

Over the weekend it was confirmed that 156 schools have been found to have buildings contain RAAC, of which 104 require urgent repair work. And on Monday it was further revealed that 5% of all schools – roughly 1200 – are affected by this growing crisis.

We’ve known for years that this is a growing problem as classrooms across the country, and here in Devon, are literally falling apart around pupils. The urgent rebuilding of schools like Tiverton High School and Tipton St John have long been promised, yet we are still waiting to see spades in the ground.

What is even more shocking is that the Government knew about this. The former permanent secretary at the Department for Education said on Monday that officials warned back in 2018 of a "critical risk to life" from crumbling school buildings, but requests for additional funding were ignored.

Rishi Sunak may claim that he’s not to blame, but that’s simply not true. Earlier this year his Conservative government cut £900 million from the education capital spending budget, which is spent ensuring classrooms are safe.

This crisis perfectly sums up the approach of this Conservative government. They are content to sit back and take us for granted, letting these issues fester until they reach crisis point – then they scramble to pick up the pieces.

Our children and communities deserve far better than this reckless boom and bust approach.