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The public sector currently finds itself in the face of an immediate crisis. In September 2022, the Office of Government Property issued a ‘Safety Briefing Notice’ stating that RAAC panels are now life-expired and liable to collapse.

RAAC panels were a modern method of construction with main uses in floor wall and roof panels. It grew in popularity throughout the 1960s and 1970s, allowing the rapid construction of buildings, such as schools and hospitals, compared to more traditional methods.

The panels are made of an aerated lightweight cementitious material with no coarse aggregates, making them much lighter and easier to mould than traditional concrete — their lack of weight results in a less durable product with a 30-year lifespan. The panels have been described regularly in the mainstream news as bubbly and crumbly and upon visual inspection, it is evident why.

As many buildings containing RAAC panels are now 50+ years old, the issues are becoming apparent. The porous nature of the product makes the panel more prone to water ingress, which can cause the steel bar reinforcement to rust and degrade over time. In old buildings where old pipes begin to leak, problems can occur, which are often only visible with an intrusive survey. In turn, panels will creep and deflect, causing fracture and collapse.

Another common issue occurs in roof panels where there is a lack of reinforcement bearing onto the wall structure. Survey evidence has highlighted that during installation, builders have cut ends from ‘off the shelf’ planks to fit the dimensions of structures. In doing so, the transverse bars which anchor the end of the reinforcement have been cut away, causing significant negative impact to the structural performance of the panels.

NHS England commissioned Loughborough University to undertake surveys and research of the panels and its existing portfolio. Findings show that some 10,000 panels make up the roofs of some NHS hospitals. Building reported an astonishing 38% of England’s 64,000 school buildings have passed their design life. With the National Audit Office revealing an estimated 700,000 pupils in buildings that the Department for Education believes require major work, the challenge is huge and expensive but does present an opportunity to build back better.

A popular solution, where panels have not yet failed, can be to retrofit a steel angle or timber bearing at areas of risk. The UK government has now implemented a programme to survey public buildings and remove or strengthen them where necessary. NHS England, on the other hand, is committing to a full eradication agenda.

Many RAAC panels, regardless of when installed, continue to perform well where installation met the manufacturer’s recommendations. Surveys and record information show they exist in lots of public buildings over 50 years old, which should be subject to periodic monitoring. The onus moving forward will fall on building owners and operators to address their maintenance operations to track conditions.

Anecdotal feedback suggested that some people outside of the industry negatively perceived the construction industry following the news of the crisis. However, just over half (53%) of our survey respondents said the situation had not affected the industry’s reputation.

Instead, some comments received suggested that the government’s reputation was affected due to long-term underfunding and a lack of maintenance and checks.

The National Audit Office’s conditions of school buildings report highlighted a significant funding shortfall in recent years, contributing to deterioration across the school estate. The Department for Education calculated £7 billion a year as the best practice level of capital funding needed to maintain, repair and rebuild the school estate. Instead, it received an allocation averaging £3.1 billion a year of funding from HM Treasury, including finances to build 500 schools over a 10-year programme.

The School Rebuilding Programme is behind schedule. In the summer, Construction News reported that as of March 2023, there had been just 24 contract awards against a target of 83, with the National Audit Office highlighting the delay to programme forecasts was largely a result of the supply chain declining contracts due to inflation risks and market volatility.