To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools with suspected reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC) are awaiting buildings inspections to confirm the presence of RAAC as of 14 November 2023.
Answered on
13 December 2023
It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the department is made aware that a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.
All responsible bodies were requested to complete a questionnaire. As of 14 November 2023, the department now has responses to these questionnaires for all of the schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 15,158.
Where responsible bodies notify the department that they require a survey, it has allocated a professional surveyor to assess whether RAAC is present. The department has eight survey firms contracted to deliver technical surveys so we can rapidly confirm if RAAC is present.
All schools and colleges that have advised us they suspect they might have RAAC have had a survey to confirm if RAAC is present. The vast majority of schools and colleges surveyed to date have been found to have no RAAC.