As schools across the country are forced to partially close and London airports confirm their buildings have RAAC, Euronews takes a look at the impact RAAC has and will have going forward.
The British government has attracted huge amounts of criticism due to their handling of the situation and ministers in England and Scotland have been accused of covering up evidence relating to the severity of the problem for months.
Earlier this week, UK Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was forced to apologise after making “off-the-cuff” remarks on camera while expressing frustration about the crumbling concrete crisis in schools.
Before the controversy about RAAC - and the much-maligned government’s reaction - came to the forefront, a report by the UK’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), had highlighted the cost and complexity involved in dealing with the problem.
The government has since committed to completely rebuilding seven “structurally unsound” hospitals built with RAAC but parents and political opponents alike are in uproar following parliament’s response, with some saying it was “too slow” and “doesn’t go far enough”.
There were holds up, apparently due to insufficient funding and COVID-19-related delays up until February of this year, when seven education unions demanded urgent action over the “shocking state” of school buildings at the risk of collapse.
Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer has blamed the crumbling concrete crisis on the government “cutting corners” and “sticking plaster politics”, joining industry experts in that sentiment.
The original article contains 1,407 words, the summary contains 208 words. Saved 85%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The British government has attracted huge amounts of criticism due to their handling of the situation and ministers in England and Scotland have been accused of covering up evidence relating to the severity of the problem for months.
Earlier this week, UK Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was forced to apologise after making “off-the-cuff” remarks on camera while expressing frustration about the crumbling concrete crisis in schools.
Before the controversy about RAAC - and the much-maligned government’s reaction - came to the forefront, a report by the UK’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), had highlighted the cost and complexity involved in dealing with the problem.
The government has since committed to completely rebuilding seven “structurally unsound” hospitals built with RAAC but parents and political opponents alike are in uproar following parliament’s response, with some saying it was “too slow” and “doesn’t go far enough”.
There were holds up, apparently due to insufficient funding and COVID-19-related delays up until February of this year, when seven education unions demanded urgent action over the “shocking state” of school buildings at the risk of collapse.
Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer has blamed the crumbling concrete crisis on the government “cutting corners” and “sticking plaster politics”, joining industry experts in that sentiment.
The original article contains 1,407 words, the summary contains 208 words. Saved 85%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Good sumup, but never explained what RAAC stands for
Retroactive Acronym Assignment and Clarification