Schools ‘could be shut until 2025’ as government refuses to publish full list

When asked by the BBC if hospitals are safe, schools minister Nick Gibb said: “Yes, they are. Hospitals are very large buildings. They have big and expert maintenance teams in those hospitals.

“They can use propping, and they are using propping so they can move patients from one ward to the other.

“It’s a very different estate from the school estate.”

Raac planks are thought to be present in 34 hospitals’ buildings in England.

The government launched its New Hospitals Programme in 2020 pledging to build 40 new hospitals by 2030.

However, a report by the public spending watchdog in July said it is on track to break a key promise in the blueprint.

The National Audit Office (NAO) found delays in projects mean the target is not likely to be met.

By the watchdog’s analysis, 32 hospitals in England classed as new by the definition the government first used are set to be completed in 2030.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, added: “Trusts that missed out on additional capital funding following the recent New Hospital Programme announcement still need major investment to overhaul ageing estates, and to address other infrastructure risks that can compromise patient and staff safety.”

All NHS trusts should have access to the necessary funding to replace concrete that has been deemed unsafe “as soon as possible”, a health chief has said.

The government has committed to rebuilding seven hospitals most affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) by 2030. The lightweight material was used in public buildings from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, but is now assessed to be at risk of collapse.

Earlier this year, NHS Providers published a report calling for the “long-neglected” NHS estate in England to be brought “into the 21st century”. It also described Raac as presenting a “major and unjustifiable safety risk”.

The government said it “remains committed” to eradicating Raac from the NHS estate by 2035.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the organisation “welcomed” recent government action, but called for all trusts to have access to cash to replace Raac where necessary.

“We welcomed recent government action to replace dangerous, crumbling old concrete blocks in ceilings and walls by ensuring the seven trusts with the most critical Raac risk will be replaced by 2030,” he added.

“The government has made a commitment that the remaining Raac risk will be removed from the NHS estate by 2035.

“However, it is vital that all trusts can access the necessary capital funding to replace these concrete planks as soon as possible.”

The Liberal Democrats have called on ministers to “come clean on how many schools are affected by crumbling concrete”.

104 schools have been told to close buildings because they are at risk of collapse due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). However, a list of schools affected has not been made available by the Department for Education.

Lib Dem education spokesman Munira Wilson said parents across the country “will want to be reassured that they are not sending their child back to school in an unsafe building that may collapse”.

She said: “Ministers must release information about each and every school that has been affected so far, and also set out a timetable to complete inspections on all other schools suspected to have RAAC.”

The government has been urged to “do everything possible” to ensure that eligible children continue to receive free meals at schools affected by the discovery of collapse-prone concrete.

More than 100 schools and colleges have been advised to at least partially close buildings containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) after several incidents this summer sparked concern, inluding a beam collapsing without warning on school premises, schools minister Nick Gibb said.

The Department for Education has said that a “minority” will need to “either fully or partially relocate” to alternative accommodation while safety measures are installed.

Essex Council has said: “Disruption to local authority schools is minimal. We anticipate one local authority school will be affected. We will not be naming schools impacted this time. Parents and carers of schools affected will hear directly from their school if affected.

“Approximately 50 schools (local authority and academies) in Essex have known RAAC. However due to systems already in place at the majority of these schools most will be able to open as usual when term begins.”

Leading providers explained that the cost of a cabin varies, as it usually requires workers to set the foundations, build teaching walls, data points, disability facilities and ensure the building is connected to the school network.

On average, a double classroom modular building with toilets at the centre costs £175,000 to purchase and an estimated £750 per week on a 2-year hiring contract.

Of the six providers The Independent spoke to, all stated that their prices would remain fixed and would not be increased due to supplier demand.

“Any company that is reputable and worth their salt will keep their prices as they are,” one said.

Meanwhile, others including Pickerings Hire, said they would be providing information to affected schools to state that they currently have available units for use.

David Wernick, the chairman of one of the largest providers of permanent and temporary modular buildings, told The Independent that his industry had been “involved” with the DfE for a number of years regarding this issue.

He noted that his company Wernick had not “specifically” seen an increase due to the dangers posed by RAAC but that they were providing buildings “all the time” to schools.

“We are in constant contact with the DfE and independent schools. Clearly as the news would indicate, the DfE is working as hard as they can to resolve this issue.”

Asked if there was a prospect of profiteering, Mr Wernick said: “Absolutely not. We are on a framework agreement with the government and we will be providing accommodation as required within those frameworks.

“The Department of Education works very diligently to ensure they get competitive and fair rates.”

Of 156 schools, 52 were deemed critical and at risk of sudden collapse due to dangerous concrete, the schools minister has said.

Safety measures have since been placed at those schools.

Asked on BBC Breakfast whether buildings at those 52 schools “could have potentially collapsed”, Mr Gibb said: “Yes, and that’s why we took action.”

Labour has accused Michael Gove of starting the “neglect” of schools that led to collapsing concrete crisis.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson slammed Mr Gove’s decision to scrap the last Labour government’s school building programme, saying it was “the death knell of ambition for our children”.

The move was “the first sign of the neglect that was to come”, she writes in an article for the Independent in which she also accuses ministers of having “no strategy” to ensure school sites are “up to scratch”.

Disruption to schools by RAAC could continue until 2025, parents have now been warned.

Patrick Moore’s daughter attends Crossflats Primary School in Bradford, one of the schools affected by the concrete collapse risk.

He said parents were emailed “48 hours ago” to say RAAC was found in some parts of the school’s building, but the headteacher said the school would reopen as “normal” next week.

Rather than close the whole school, only parts of the buiding will be off-limits.

“They are losing some computer rooms and cooking facilities, we’ve been told,” he told Sky News, “so they’ll set up terrapins on some of the playing fields.”

One parent has told Sky they were warned “disruption will continue until 2025, or they may have to go to a new location altogether”.