“Poor understanding by decision makers” – in my experience this could appear to the case too many times. Why? Is it an inevitability. Could those who would like to help improve informed decision making be on a “fools errand”?

Thanks Neil.

1. Condition is not the most critical factor for the sudden failure encountered in 2018 – the adequacy of reinforcement anchorage at the end bearing is.

2. The DfE have decided that all RAAC roofs should be replaced. This is despite in many cases that they have been made structurally redundant since 2019. This has typically been achieved by installing a full supporting deck beneath the RAAC, such that the RAAC is not required to have any strength at all and is totally redundant. This is clearly a waste of scarce taxes which could be better used on the many other maintenance backlog items within the school estate, driven by a poor understanding of the issues by decision makers.

Thank you for your comment, Richard. I agree with your points. My argument is that there are buildings that are hundreds of years old constructed out of many different materials which are still performing adequately, whereas some buildings are inherently dangerous as soon as they are completed due to poor design or construction. This is why we need to review on a case-by-case basis so we (a) ensure safety of building users but also (b) not unecessarily evacuate or demolish what may be perfectly adequate structures.