UK public buildings feared to be at risk of collapse as concrete crumbles

Ministers launch inquiry into use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC)

Ministers have launched a UK government-wide inquiry into the use of crumbling concrete in public buildings following fears that nurseries, offices, shops and leisure facilities are in danger of collapse.

Every Whitehall department has been ordered to assign a civil servant to identify the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) across the £158bn government estate, the Guardian has learned.