RAAC: Collapse-prone concrete found in parliament

Published

2 years ago

September 12, 2023

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Collapse-prone concrete has been found in the Houses of Parliament.

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, known as RAAC, was a common building material used in the post-war era as it was cheaper and lighter than traditional concrete.

But it is now proving a nightmare for the government as it has been found to have a 30-year lifespan before becoming susceptible to collapse.

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Hundreds of schools have been checked for RAAC – with some told to partially or fully close buildings – while hospitals and airports have also been found to contain the concrete.

A parliamentary spokesperson said: “As part of routine ongoing investigations, RAAC was identified in one area of the Palace [of Westminster].

“Structural engineers have confirmed there is no immediate risk. Where RAAC is found, mitigations will be put in place as necessary.”

It is understood the concrete was found in an area which was built in 1974.

Elsewhere, more than 600 schools have now been checked for RAAC, according to senior Department for Education (DfE) officials.

A list of 147 schools where RAAC had been found was released last week, but this was already a week out of date.

Permanent secretary at DfE, Susan Acland-Hood, and chief operating officer Jane Cunliffe appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday.

Ms Cunliffe said that in more than 600 schools assessed, two-thirds had not been found to have RAAC.

But the officials could not confirm how many surveys they were waiting to get back from schools.

Ms Cunliffe said: “It is very fast moving, we are doing tens of surveys every day.”

Meanwhile, Ms Acland-Hood praised Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, who was caught on camera last week complaining about not being thanked for doing a “f****** good job” over the unsafe concrete crisis, while others “sat on their arses”.

The official told MPs: “The secretary of state has been generous in recognising work done in the department.

“I don’t think she did intend to suggest others hadn’t been working hard. All I can say is on behalf of the department, I am really grateful.

“I think schools, responsible bodies and teachers up and down the country have worked unbelievably hard in what were very difficult circumstances, at short notice.”

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Concerns about the safety of the parliamentary estate – including fire risks and the presence of asbestos – have been longstanding for the mainly Victorian-era building.

Restoration is forecasted to cost several billion pounds, with both the Lords and Commons potentially having to relocate while work is carried out.

Politics

Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she is ‘totally’ up for the job of chancellor in first comments since tearful PMQs

Published

2 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she is 'totally' up for the job of chancellor in first comments since tearful PMQs

The chancellor has said she was having a “tough day” yesterday in her first public comments since appearing tearful at Prime Minister’s Questions – but insisted she is “totally” up for the job.

Rachel Reeves told broadcasters: “Clearly I was upset yesterday and everyone could see that. It was a personal issue and I’m not going to go into the details of that.

“My job as chancellor at 12 o’clock on a Wednesday is to be at PMQs next to the prime minister, supporting the government, and that’s what I tried to do.

“I guess the thing that maybe is a bit different between my job and many of your viewers’ is that when I’m having a tough day it’s on the telly and most people don’t have to deal with that.”

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She declined to give a reason behind the tears, saying “it was a personal issue” and “it wouldn’t be right” to divulge it.

“People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday. Today’s a new day and I’m just cracking on with the job,” she added.

Ms Reeves also said she is “totally” up for the job of chancellor, saying: “This is the job that I’ve always wanted to do. I’m proud of what I’ve delivered as chancellor.”

Asked if she was surprised that Sir Keir Starmer did not back her more strongly during PMQs, she reiterated that she and the prime minister are a “team”, saying: “We fought the election together, we changed the Labour Party together so that we could be in the position to return to power, and over the past year, we’ve worked in lockstep together.”

PM: ‘I was last to appreciate’ that Reeves was crying

The chancellor’s comments come after the prime minister told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that he “didn’t appreciate” that she was crying behind him at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday because the weekly sessions are “pretty wild”, which is why he did not offer her any support while in the chamber.

He added: “It wasn’t just yesterday – no prime minister ever has had side conversations during PMQs. It does happen in other debates when there’s a bit more time, but in PMQs, it is bang, bang, bang. That’s what it was yesterday.

“And therefore, I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber, and that’s just a straightforward human explanation, common sense explanation.”

During PMQs, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch branded the chancellor the “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence” just hours after he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn over his controversial welfare bill, leaving a “black hole” in the public finances.

The prime minister’s watered-down Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill was backed by a majority of 75 in a tense vote on Tuesday evening – but a total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill, which was the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s lone parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

Reeves looks transformed – but this has been a disastrous week for the PM

It is a Rachel Reeves transformed that appears in front of the cameras today, nearly 24 hours since one of the most extraordinary PMQs.

Was there a hint of nervousness as she started, aware of the world watching for any signs of human emotion? Was there a touch of feeling in her face as the crowds applauded her?

People will speculate. But Ms Reeves has got through her first public appearance, and can now, she hopes, move on.

The prime minister embraced her as he walked on stage, the health secretary talked her up: “Thanks to her leadership, we have seen wages rising faster than the cost of living.”

A show of solidarity at the top of government, a prime minister and chancellor trying to get on with business.

But be in no doubt today’s speech on a 10-year-plan for the NHS has been overshadowed. Not just by a chancellor in tears, but what that image represents.

A PM who, however assured he appeared today, has marked his first year this week, as Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby put to him, with a “self-inflicted shambles”.

She asked: “How have you got this so wrong? How can you rebuild trust? Are you just in denial?”

They are questions Starmer will be grappling with as he tries to move past a disastrous week.

Ms Reeves has borne a lot of the criticism over the handling of the vote, with some MPs believing that her strict approach to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning welfare bill from the standpoint of trying to make savings, rather than getting people into work.

Ms Badenoch also said the chancellor looked “absolutely miserable”, and questioned whether she would remain in post until the next election.

Sir Keir did not explicitly say that she will, and Ms Badenoch interjected to say: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”

Downing Street scrambled to make clear to journalists that Ms Reeves was “going nowhere”, and the prime minister has since stated publicly that she will remain as chancellor “for many years to come”.