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Ministers are urgently asking for details about a “crumbly” type of concrete used widely in flat-roofed school buildings, often hidden from sight but now feared to be leaving schools “liable to collapse”.

The collapse of a primary school’s flat roof in 2018 – luckily at a weekend and resulting in no casualties – is believed to have brought the potential danger of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete’s (RAAC) fragility into sharp focus.

While RAAC may look like traditional concrete, it is weaker, with chocolate Aero-like bubbles. Because the concrete is often obscured from view above ceilings, schools are often unaware of its presence.

But this September, the Office for Government Property (OGP) issued a safety briefing notice to all property leaders warning RAAC is “now life expired and liable to collapse”.

They warned “this has already happened in two schools with little or no notice”.

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