Raac: Portsmouth City Council respond to unsafe concrete concerns as schools told to shut across UK

The government said 104 buildings with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) were at risk of collapse while more than 50 others also require action.

Labour MPs have criticised the government for only taking action a few days before the start of the new academic year and for not publishing a list of the affected schools.

However, Portsmouth City Council said it did not believe any schools in the city were among them. One school in Hampshire, Cranbourne College in Wessex Close, Basingstoke, is one of the schools which is believed to have been told to shut or partially close.

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“We are not aware of any schools in Portsmouth on the Department for Education’s list of schools affected by RAAC,” a spokesman said.

The issue was raised by Labour councillor George Fielding in July when he was told most school buildings in the city were either older or more modern than the period when the concrete was used.

Councillor Suzy Horton, the cabinet member for education, said the council’s maintenance programme for its schools meant the city was less affected.

“We have been a little bit ahead of the game when it comes to our school buildings,” she said. “We have looked into this thoroughly and are in contact with the schools in MATs (multi-academy trusts).”

Concerns about buildings with RAAC were raised in a 1999 report by the Standing Committee on Structural Safety although it said it did not believe there were any structural risks.

But in 2018 the roof of Singlewell Primary in Gravesend collapsed after the concrete failed.

A report by the National Audit Office in July this year warned 572 schools had RAAC structures and earlier this week 104 buildings were ordered to close with 52 more requiring mitigation work.

“Recent cases have now changed our assessment of the risk that RAAC poses to building safety,” it said. “We are taking immediate steps to ensure the safety of staff and pupils in line with this.”

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But Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan, Labour’s shadow minister for schools, said the situation “demonstrates the incompetence of this Conservative government”.

“Ministers have known for years that our school estate has major problems,” he said. “Now mere days before children are to return, schools across the country are closing because they’re at risk of collapse.

“Despite our repeated warnings, ministers have refused to get a grip on this situation and many parents still don’t know if their child’s school is at risk of collapse from crumbling concrete. Ministers must come clean, publish the list of schools affected, and sort this situation out urgently.”