Schools: Buildings

(asked on 7th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department's survey of the school estate for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) seeks to identify other potential construction risks; and how her Department prioritises the requirements posed by multiple construction risks in schools.


Answered by
Robert Halfon Portrait
Robert Halfon
This question was answered on 15th November 2023

It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.

The RAAC survey is a stand-alone and specific survey to address the presence of RAAC construction.

From early 2017, the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme undertook to visit every Government maintained nursery and school in England to collect data about the physical condition of school buildings and how they are managed. The Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme was the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate. Previous administrations took no action to understand the condition of the school estate. Running from 2017 to 2019, the survey allowed the Department to understand the condition of the school estate over time and informed capital funding and programmes by providing information on the condition of all 22,000 government funded school buildings and 260 further education colleges in England.

The second iteration of the CDC programme is currently underway and is programmed to conclude in 2026.

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