Scandal over RAAC school closures points to a deeper malaise

By Chloë McCulloch2023-09-01T11:57:00

Yesterday’s shocking news about the state of buildings made using lightweight concrete should prompt politicians to reboot the entire school rebuilding programme

What a mess. The start of the school term next week has been thrown into chaos for thousands of pupils, parents and teachers because a form of outdated lightweight concrete used in hundreds of buildings has been deemed so unsafe that it now poses an unacceptable risk to life and has forced their schools to close.

No wonder there is outrage. The government has known for five years that reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or RAAC for short, posed a risk. In 2018 a school ceiling in Kent made of RAAC panels collapsed, and it was only sheer good luck that no one was hurt as it happened during a weekend when the school was not open.

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