UK: Schools Close Due to Crumbling Infrastructure

Facts

• Following years of lockdowns during the pandemic, more than 100 schools and colleges in England were either fully or partially shut down due to crumbling concrete on Thursday.¹
• In total, 156 schools have been found to have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) — which has been deemed potentially unsafe — 104 of which were deemed non-critical. Regarding the 52 deemed critical, Schools Minister Nick Gibb said they "could have potentially collapsed."²
• Gibbs said the school closures, 24 of which were complete lockdowns, came in response to a collapsed beam over the summer that had previously been deemed safe. He added that the government will cover "all capital costs," such as alternative school settings like "Portacabins in the school estate."³
• When questioned about why the decision was made so close to the year's start and when a full list of schools would be released, Gibb said they acted "as soon as the evidence emerged" and a list would be provided "in due course." However, knowledge of cracked roofs was reportedly available as early as 1995.⁴
• A report by the National Audit Office in June also found that roughly 700K children in England were studying in buildings that required large-scale rebuilding or refurbishment. Besides RAAC, another reported issue was asbestos.⁴
• This comes as, according to the Liberal Democrats, between seven and 37 schools in Scotland could be facing similar structural problems, with both Northern Ireland and Wales set to conduct surveys on whether any of their schools are built with RAAC.¹

Sources: ¹The Telegraph, ²BBC News, ³The Guardian, and ⁴Times.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by New Statesman. The reason for the UK's crumbling infrastructure is a lack of investment in the country, and the Conservatives have played a major role in this through its Brexit policies. The ruling government has known about these issues for years but decided to kick the can down the road, assuming a new one would take its place. A continued hands-off approach from the Tories will result in more destruction.
• Narrative B, as provided by Morning Star. While education investment has declined since the Tories took over 12 years ago, the Labour Party has watched the same infrastructure crumble in coalition with the Conservatives. Everyone in the modern UK government is at fault, and neither side should be applauded for their promises until those promises materialize.

Predictions