About 10% of schools in Northern Ireland are due to be checked for collapse-prone concrete
By Robbie Meredith
BBC News NI education correspondent
It is unclear if Northern Ireland will receive extra money from the UK government to fix public buildings affected by crumbling concrete.
The Department of Finance has asked its Stormont counterparts to notify it of buildings affected by Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).
Further Education (FE) Colleges are also checking campuses for it.
Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or Raac, is a lightweight material that was used mostly in flat roofing.
It has also been used in floors and walls, between the 1950s and 1990s.
Concerns that RAAC can be prone to collapse at the end of its lifespan have led to the closure of some school buildings in England.
In Northern Ireland, about 120 schools are being surveyed for the concrete on the basis of their age and type of construction.
‘Spend whatever it takes’
In England, the government has said it will spend “whatever it takes to keep children safe”.
“All schools where Raac is confirmed will be provided with funding for mitigation works that are capital-funded where needed, such as propping and temporary accommodation on site,” the government has said.
Once extra public spending is decided for England, what is known as a “Barnett consequential” is used to allocate money to the devolved nations.
But in a statement to BBC News NI, the Department of Finance (DoF) said that “devolved administrations would normally receive Barnett consequentials of any additional funding provided to Whitehall departments for issues such as this”.
“At this time it has not been confirmed whether any additional funding will be provided,” a spokesperson said.
“The Department of Finance has asked that information on Raac surveys carried out by NI Departments and their sponsored bodies is shared with DoF.”
It said the information would help identify any high risks areas, confirm if Raac was ever used in Northern Ireland or assess the need for further surveys.
Meanwhile, BBC News NI has learned that all of Northern Ireland’s six FE Colleges are checking their campuses for use of the concrete.
Each of the colleges serve a wide geographical area and have a number of campus buildings in different locations.
Belfast Metropolitan College, Southern Regional College and South West College told BBC News NI that no Raac had been identified in surveys of their buildings.
Both North West Regional College and Northern Regional College said they were surveying their campuses for Raac.
Meanwhile, South Eastern Regional College said that “we can say with certainty that the SERC College campuses at Ballynahinch, Downpatrick, Lisburn and Newcastle were constructed post-2000 and so post date the use of Raac in public buildings”.
“Campuses in the North Down and Newtownards area (Bangor, Holywood and Newtownards) are not thought to contain Raac,” a spokesperson added.
“The SERC estate is subject to five yearly cyclical building surveys, and a survey is currently under way.”
