The Welsh Government's investment in its education buildings has
paid dividend, with no further cases of RAAC having been
identified in Wales and all schools now open for all pupils, the
Education Minister, , said today.
In comparison to other countries in the UK that have carried out
detailed surveys of their school estate, Wales has a lot fewer
instances of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC)
in schools. Only five schools in Wales have identified as
containing RAAC, compared to 231 in England and 39 in Scotland.
The five schools in Wales have reopened to all pupils.
The Minister for Education and Welsh Language, said:
“Over the past nine years, we have introduced an extensive
programme for the refurbishment and building of new schools and
colleges, upgrading and replacing those which are most in need of
replacement for safety and quality reasons.
"The fact that so few cases of RAAC have been identified in our
schools, only five in Wales in comparison to over 270 elsewhere
in the UK, is testament to this Welsh Government's investment in
our learning centres.”
The Welsh Government has increased the level of capital funding
available through the Sustainable Communities for Learning
programme to £850m for the period 2022/23 to 2024/25 representing
an increase of 25% when compared to the 2021/22 baseline. To
date more than £2.35 billion has been targeted towards new-build
and major refurbishment projects.
Of the 1,463 state-maintained schools in Wales, more than 170
schools benefitted from this investment under the first wave of
investment and 200 schools and colleges are benefiting from the
current wave. This, together with the fact that the Welsh
Government has invested £203m in capital maintenance over the
last 4 years means that local authorities and further education
institutions in Wales have been able to address key aspects of
maintenance to their schools and colleges.
added:
"I thank the staff in our schools, councils, colleges and
universities for acting swiftly over the past few months to carry
out these assessments; and to ensure minimal impact on learners
in the small number of buildings that contained RAAC."
Notes to editors
RAAC is a material used in construction in many buildings between
the 1950’s and 1990’s.
UK Governments have been aware of some of the vulnerabilities of
RAAC since the 1990s and the Welsh Government has been working
with the UK Government and other Devolved Governments since 2018
in the management of RAAC. Until very recently the guidance for
the management of RAAC in buildings has been considered by all
governments as being a robust approach towards managing RAAC and
in ensuring building occupants safety is prioritised at all
times.
In Wales, local authorities were made aware of the potential
issue with RAAC through the Welsh Local Government Association
(WLGA) in February 2020 following a safety alert published in
2019 by the Standing Committee on Structural Safety (SCOSS).
Local Authorities have a statutory duty to assess condition and
safety risks including structural integrity for all buildings
within their school estate and to maintain records.
On Anglesey, Ysgol David Hughes has safely reopened to all
learners, and Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi was able to safely reopen
for all face-to-face learning to all pupils on 10 January, ahead
of schedule. Ysgol Maes Owen in Conwy County Council, Ysgol
Trefnant in Denbighshire and Eveswell Primary in Newport
have carried out remedial works and the schools have reopened to
pupils.
Over 95% of all state funded schools have been assessed by local
authorities on a prioritised basis with the remaining schools to
be assessed in the coming weeks.
