Labour plots vote to force ministers to reveal list of schools with crumbling concrete

Furious row escalates as opposition hopes to force government to publish details of all schools at risk from potentially dangerous RAAC

Labour plans to use a vote to force the government to finally publish a full list of schools affected by crumbling concrete after days of refusals by ministers.

The government has identified more than 100 schools forced to close – plunging the new school term into chaos – because their buildings contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) – a lightweight material used in schools, colleges and other public buildings in the 1950s until the mid-1990s.

But the Department for Education (DfE) has so far dragged its heels on publishing the names and locations affected, instead saying it will leave it up to schools to inform parents.

As MPs return to the House of Commons on Monday after the summer holidays, Labour will try to make political hay out of the fiasco by putting forward a humble address – an arcane parliamentary mechanism sometimes used to demand papers from government departments – to force the publication of a full list.

“It’s time ministers were transparent about their handling of this debacle: if they still refuse to publish these documents and give parents the reassurances they deserve about the risks to their children’s safety, then we will force a vote in parliament next week,” Labour’s Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said.

Nick Gibb, the minister for schools, said the government had not published a full list because it wanted parents to find out from headteachers.

On Thursday, the DfE ordered the shutdown or partial closure of 156 schools in England due to concerns about RAAC, sparking major upheaval for pupils teachers and parents just days before the start of the new academic year.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson says it’s time for ministers to be ‘transparent’ about their handling of the ‘debacle’ (PA Wire)

The number of schools affected is expected to rise and experts have warned that the issue could extend beyond educational settings to other public buildings such as hospitals, police stations, courts and offices.

Earlier this year the National Audit Office said that dozens of NHS buildings contained the material, which has drawn comparisons with the Aero chocolate bar due to its bubbly appearance.

Officials said the material had made seven buildings structurally unsound and at risk of collapse.

Dame Meg Hillier, chairwoman of parliament’s public accounts committee, said MPs visited one hospital where heavier patients had to be treated on the ground floor because the roofs above were too unsafe due to the weight of the bed and equipment.

The senior Labour MP warned RAAC was just “the tip of the iceberg” of a crumbling school estate, describing the state of some public buildings as “jaw-dropping”.

More than 100 schools have been affected by the government guidance update (PA) (PA Wire)

In an interview with Times Radio on Saturday morning, Dame Meg questioned “why it has been left to deteriorate for so long” while millions of pounds was spent on temporary measures to mitigate the risk.

RAAC, a cheaper and easier-to-produce alternative to standard concrete, was used in public buildings for over four decades.

With a limited lifespan of around 30 years, it is less durable the normal concrete and concerns about its safety were identified as far back as 1996.

The government has known since 1994 that some public sector buildings contain potentially compromised RAAC  and has been monitoring their condition since 2018, following the collapse of school roof buildings.

Schools have been scrambling to find alternative accommodation days before the new academic year starts (Joseph Walshe / SWNS)

The Standing Committee on Structural Safety was in 2017 asked to investigate the suitability of the material after a school roof collapsed, although it is not clear which school this was

The following year another roof collapsed at a Singlewell Primary School in Kent. It happened above the school staff room, also damaging toilets, ICT equipment and an administration area. The collapse prompted Kent Council to write to other local authorities warning them to check for RAAC in their schools.

Mr Gibb said Thursday’s announcement was sparked by the collapse of a supposedly “safe” concrete beam.