Gillian Keegan faces questions today following claims a £1 million schools IT contract was awarded to a firm with links to her husband.
According to an investigation by the Mirror, the deal with Centerprise was secured using funds earmarked to rebuild education facilities at risk of collapse as a result of hazardous concrete.
Michael Keegan is listed as a non-executive director of the company which was awarded the contract in May.
It follows a difficult week for the education secretary who faces criticism for the closure of more than 150 schools following the detection of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
On Monday she was forced to apologise after claiming others had failed to tackle the crisis in an expletive-filled outburst after an interview on ITV News.
The education secretary also has questions to answer over allegations she attempted to cover up the dangers of RAAC months after the material was deemed as high-risk.
The material, which has an approximate lifespan of 30 years, is described as resembling Aero chocolate due to it’s bubbly texture and was identified as a safety risk in 2018 following the collapse of a school roof in Kent in 2018.
The exact number of schools impacted by the dangerous material is still unknown as some education facilities have still not informed the government if they suspect their buildings contain RAAC.
The deal with Centerprise is understood to “deploy servers including migration of data and systems” for the latest rounds of the Schools Rebuilding Programme (SRP) funding.
The firm’s director of marketing and opportunity management Mike Thomas told the paper: “We and the Cabinet Office are mindful of any potential conflicts of interest and steps have been put into place to ensure that his non-executive board advisory role does not conflict with our day-to-day business.
“All contracts with the Department for Education were competed for through the relevant Crown Commercial frameworks. Mr Keegan had no involvement in any of the bids.”
Non-executive directors play a crucial role in the government and reputation of firms, including the management of conflicts of interest, and are involved in the appointment and remuneration of executives.
The paper added that there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Mr and Mrs Keegan.
A DfE spokesperson said: “Ministers had no involvement in the procurement process for these contracts, which were awarded in line with existing government commercial procedures.”
The revelations follow the admission of schools minister Nick Gibb that Rishi Sunak rejected funding for the construction of 200 schools in favour of other priorities.
The DfE admitted just four schools have been rebuilt so far under plans overhaul 500 sites by 2030 that the prime minister used to defend claims he had cut funding for new schools.
Sunak is under increasing pressure following claims from a former senior civil servant that he refused to fully fund a programme to rebuild England’s crumbling schools when he was chancellor.
Jonathan Slater, who served as permanent secretary at the department from May 2016 to August 2020, said he was “absolutely amazed” the decision was made by the Treasury to slash the government budget for school repairs by half in 2021.
Slater said that up to 400 schools a year required replacement but that funding was given for just 100.
Gibb told Sky News: “We put in a bid for 200, but what Rishi agreed to was to continue the rebuilding programme with 50 a year, consistent with what we’d been doing since we came into office,” the minister told Sky News.
“Of course we put in a bid for 200, but of course the Treasury then has to compare that with all the other priorities from right across Whitehall, from the health service, defence, and so on.”
The government has been accused of ignoring the dangers of RAAC, with the Guardian revealing that the Department for Education had told Downing Street ion the ‘risk to life’ posed by crumbling concrete in 2022.
Related: Gillian Keegan ‘covered-up’ RAAC dangers whistleblower claims
