Concrete crisis: officials thought asbestos in schools was safe too – the same mistakes have been made over Raac

By Adam Page, Lecturer in Modern British History, University of Lincoln

The decision to close some schools and erect emergency structural supports in others just days before the start of a new term appeared to come about suddenly. The announcement followed three recent failures of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), in particular the collapse of a beam in late August at a primary school in Leicester.

The schools minister, Nick Gibbs, said: “Raac that had been considered to be…

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