“The liabilities here could be substantial,” says a construction lawyer.
More than 100 schools across England start the new academic year today in temporary facilities after they were told by government just last week that their buildings could collapse at any moment.
The dangers of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete – that it deteriorates from the inside over time, invisibly, and then fails catastrophically – have been known about since the 1990s.
In September 2022, the Office of Government Property issued a safety briefing alert on the dangers of RAAC, stating that ‘RAAC is now life-expired and liable to collapse’.
The Department for Education’s 2021/22 annual report stated that the risk of schools collapsing had increased from ‘likely’ to ‘very likely’ over the course of the year.
What has happened now is that the government has just discovered that it has not been fixing the problem quickly enough. It has turned a crisis into a circus.
Phil Caton, construction law partner at legal firm Aaron & Partners, said: “The government's recent decision to close schools with RAAC structures raises urgent concerns about safety, liability, and public trust. One glaring issue is the reliance on self-reported questionnaires from schools to identify RAAC presence, without a clear, immediate verification process by the Department for Education. This lack of transparency compromises the accuracy of the reporting and leaves parents in the dark about whether their children's schools are genuinely safe or even inspected.
“From a legal standpoint, the liabilities here could be substantial. Schools, local councils, and potentially past contractors could be implicated in a series of complex legal disputes over responsibility for material failures or incidents. Given that RAAC was popular between the 1950s and mid-1990s, many original contractors and designers may no longer exist, making it difficult to seek any legal redress or obtain original technical information. This adds complexity to an already challenging situation involving potential legal disputes and public safety concerns.
“There's an urgent need for a transparent, coordinated approach among government bodies, schools, and construction experts to manage both the immediate safety risks and the long-term legal implications of this matter.”
Removal of RAAC planks might be further complicated by the presence of asbestos, also widely used in the types of buildings built with RAAC.
John Wallace, managing director at Ridgemont, a specialist construction and real estate law firm, said: “Recent building safety legislation means that liability for unsafe buildings (whether in respect of their construction or maintenance) can fall at the feet of developers, building owners and other participants in the construction sector. Those responsible will need to ensure that they meet the requirements of the substantive legislation in this area, identify any RAAC and taking particular care in removing the same where asbestos is identified in its vicinity.”
“Where RAAC panels may contain asbestos, considerable care will need to be taken in any invasive testing of the RAAC. Asbestos, once disturbed, is a serious hazard.
“The need to remove RAAC, and any asbestos, across schools and other buildings provides an opportunity for schools to be made safer places and improved. However, those responsible for such buildings and those engaged to undertake the work carry a heavy burden. Serious consequences follow for those that do not meet their obligations under the relevant legislation.”
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