Ministers have launched a UK government-wide inquiry into the use of crumbling concrete in public buildings following fears that nurseries, offices, shops and leisure facilities are in danger of collapse.
Every Whitehall department has been ordered to assign a civil servant to identify the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) across the £158bn government estate, the Guardian has learned.
Inspectors are thought to have no idea how many out of thousands of government buildings were constructed with RAAC.
The development represents a major expansion of a previous inquiry into the use of the building material that focused mainly on hospitals and schools. Experts have so far identified more than 150 schools where it has potentially been in use, and last week closed a primary in Southend, Essex, because of the safety risk.
RAAC looks like concrete, but it is a lighter form of the material that was used in many one- and two-storey public sector buildings in the UK from the mid-1950s to the mid-90s. Less durable than traditional concrete, it has a shelf-life estimated to be about 30 years and is prone to collapse when wet.
