Building risk register needed as schools RAAC crisis may be 'tip of the iceberg'

07 September 2023 , 15:03

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Schools have been plunged into chaos by the RAAC concrete crisis (Image: William Lailey SWNS)

Ministers have been urged to publish a national risk register for all public buildings amid warnings the dodgy concrete crisis in schools could be the "tip of the iceberg".

Unions warned that hospitals, libraries, community centres and other public buildings could also be at risk from collapse-prone RAAC concrete. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “The RAAC crisis in our schools is just the tip of the iceberg. Across our public estate – including in our hospitals, libraries, community centres and courts - we have buildings at risk from RAAC, asbestos and other severe structural problems."

He added: "People deserve to know the buildings they work in and use are safe. Where the Government is unclear about the safety of buildings they must take immediate action to carry out risk assessments and make this information public. We must end the culture of secrecy that has prevented good decision-making and put lives at risk." Mr Nowak urged the Government to commit to a capital repairs programme to rid public buildings of RAAC, asbestos and other structural hazards.

Thousands of kids have seen the start of term disrupted after the Government issued an 11th-hour order to more than 100 schools to shut or partially close over safety fears.Some 147 schools in England have been found to contain RAAC, according to the Department for Education. Of these, 19 schools were forced to delay the start of the school year, leaving 9,731 pupils in the lurch.

Around 2,960 pupils in four schools are being forced to do remote learning, while 22,339 pupils across 20 schools are receiving a mix of face-to-face and remote learning. Hospitals and court buildings are also facing new checks following the crisis in schools.

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It comes as six major unions wrote to Gillian Keegan demanding answers on many schools are suspected to have RAAC but are yet to have been investigated or surveyed. Tensions are running high after the Education Secretary told schools to "get off their backsides" and complete questionnaires - which heads described as her trying to pass the back.

In a letter to Ms Keegan, the unions demanded to know the deadline for clearing all schools of the dangerous concrete. They warned the level of information from the DfE so far may not "reflect the full extent of the problem".

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Lizzy Buchan