Somerset Council has said it is “fully confident” that no “unsafe” concrete is present in any of the schools for which it is directly responsible.
It comes after over 100 school buildings across the UK have been ordered to close by the Department for Education (DfE) after a form of concrete within the buildings, known as RAAC, was found to be “unsafe”.
The Labour group on Somerset Council used an executive committee meeting on Wednesday (September 6th) to ask how many Somerset schools contained RAAC and what is being done to keep pupils safe.
The council’s ruling Liberal Democrat administration has responded that no schools surveyed to date contain RAAC – though one Taunton academy has had to close one classroom after the material was found.
The material was widely used in roof, floor and wall construction from the mid-1950s onwards, since it was lighter and cheaper than traditional concrete and had naturally good fire resistance.
Concerns about the safety of RAAC in UK buildings began to emerge in the mid-1990s, with the Health and Safety Executive recently warning that buildings made of RAAC could “collapse with little or no notice”.
Since it can break with little notice, it is difficult to identify issues with RAAC before they emerge – leading to sudden, unexpected incidents such as the collapse of a roof at Singlewell Primary School in Kent back in July 2018.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt MP has pledged to “spend what it takes” to refurbish or repair schools found to contain RAAC.
Evidence has since been reported in the national media that funds made available for school repairs in England and Wales were greatly reduced by Rishi Sunak during his previous role as chancellor. Labour politicians have been calling for government action on the matter.
