12 September 2023 , 21:00
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Crumbling schools face a “double whammy” threat from collapse-prone concrete and asbestos, a top union leader has warned.
GMB General Secretary Gary Smith said the Government urgently needed to share details of which schools are affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the discovery of which has already forced heads to shut buildings due to safety fears. Mr Smith, whose union represents school support staff, told the Mirror: “RAAC will bring to a head that our public buildings have lots and lots of asbestos still in them.
"We have no proper plan for asbestos removal and asbestos is still killing people.” He warned that decaying concrete could release deadly asbestos fibres, as both were often used in the same kinds of buildings. “If ever there was a metaphor for what this government, for what the Tories have done for this country, it’s the state of our buildings,” he added.
GMB General Secretary Gary Smith said the Government urgently needs to share details of which schools are affected by RAAC (Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)Top officials from the Department for Education (DfE) told MPs on Monday that they have completed more than 600 surveys of schools suspected of having RAAC. But they refused to tell the Commons Public Accounts Committee how many still needed to be checked for dodgy concrete.
It comes as the Trades Union Congress (TUC) demanded an end to the "culture of secrecy" around the use of RAAC in public buildings. The body representing unions said the issue in schools could be the "tip of the iceberg" and called for a plan and timescale for ridding public buildings of RAAC, asbestos and other structural hazards.
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Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT teachers union, said pupils, parents, and heads have been "left in a state of anxiety and limbo" over whether schools are safe. “They need and deserve a clear timetable and plan for assessing and dealing with RAAC," he said. “The scandalous condition of our school buildings riddled with RAAC and asbestos in disrepair must be addressed in the interests of children and young people."
The Government has been under intense pressure after issuing an eleventh hour order to more than 100 schools to shut or partially close only days before the start of term.
A long-awaited list of affected schools, published last week, revealed 147 education settings in England where mitigations had to be put in place to deal with crumbly concrete. Some were forced to delay the start of term, while others had to offer a mix of remote and face-to-face learning.
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