No unsafe RAAC concrete identified in Flintshire schools, says council

Flintshire Council has confirmed that surveyors have not identified any potentially hazardous concrete in the 600 buildings it manages, including all education settings in the county.

Two schools on Anglesey have been closed amid concerns about the safety of concrete.

Ysgol David Hughes in Menai Bridge and Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi in Holyhead are the two secondary schools affected following the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) within the buildings.

RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete. It was used in the construction of schools, colleges, and other buildings from the 1950s until the mid-1990s.

Its presence has been confirmed in a range of public sector properties across the United Kingdom, including schools and hospitals.

In England, it has led to the closure of more than 150 schools on the eve of the start of the new school year.

The Welsh government confirmed earlier today that, while work to assess the scale of the problem in Wales continues, it has been agreed to temporarily close Ysgol David Hughes and Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi so that further safety inspections can be carried out.

The decision was made following urgent discussions with the Welsh Government and taking into consideration advice provided to English schools by the UK Government.

Flintshire Council’s Corporate Manager for Capital Programme and Assets, Damian Hughes, has provided reassurance regarding the absence of RAAC in council-managed properties, including education settings.

He said: “In 2019, the Welsh Local Government Association contacted all Councils to draw attention to a failure of a flat roof constructed using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

“The Council proactively manages a property portfolio of over 600 properties, covering a diverse range of buildings from schools to industrial units.”

“These are surveyed/re-surveyed by independent chartered surveyors on a rolling programme to ensure the Council is fully compliant with current legislation.”

Mr Hughes said: “The outcome of the rolling programme of condition surveys on council-owned buildings is that no RAAC has been reported.”

The UK Government is said to have been aware of some of the issues with RAAC since the 1990s, and the Welsh Government has been working with Westminster since 2018 to manage the risk.

In Wales, local authorities were made aware of potential problems through the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) in February 2020 following a safety alert published by the Standing Committee on Structural Safety (SCOSS).

Welsh Government Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, said that despite the UK Government announcing new guidance on August 31st leading to the closure of schools in England, no issues were flagged with the Welsh Government.

This is despite ministers in Westminster stating that a number of incidents have happened over the summer period which led to a heightened safety risk regarding the usage of RAAC.

Mr Miles said some of the evidence was not received until last night (Sunday, 3rd September).

He said: “It is hugely regrettable that the evidence that has apparently been developed over the summer has been withheld until the night before the first day back of term.

“It is also incomplete, leaving us without the full rationale for the DfE’s sudden policy change towards the management of RAAC in schools.

“We continue to request detailed structural engineer reports that clearly set out the timeline and technical analysis of events leading up to last Thursday’s announcement of school closures.

“This can then be reviewed by officials and shared with local authorities who have statutory responsibility for school buildings in Wales.

“While only partial, the new evidence indicates that there may need to be a change in the approach towards how RAAC safety is undertaken and the health and safety management approach we may need to take.”

He added: “In response to last week’s announcement in England, we have been in contact with all local authorities in Wales over recent days.

“In these discussions, only two schools have been identified as having RAAC, and both schools have been managing the parts of their buildings which contain RAAC safely, in accordance with expert advice.

“We are undertaking further work to verify the position across Wales, and a review of the latest information held by local authorities is underway. We expect to have the results of that within the next two weeks.”

[Photo: AllEvents]