Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of schools and colleges in England fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

The Department has sent a questionnaire on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) to all responsible bodies, asking them to complete the information on RAAC for all their schools. The questionnaire asks whether RAAC is present in any buildings on their school estates, and how responsible bodies are managing it. The purpose of the questionnaire is to allow the Department to better understand the prevalence of RAAC across the school estate and ensure the correct support is in place to meet the responsible bodies’ needs. The questionnaire has been sent to responsible bodies of schools and does not include colleges.

The questionnaire remains open. At present, the Department only has partial data and is not yet able to provide an estimate of the number of schools fitted with RAAC.

Depending upon the survey uptake in the next 6 months, an initial estimate may be issued in April 2023.

The Department has also previously issued guidance on identifying and managing RAAC, which it will be updating later this year.