'This is only the tip of the iceberg': fears of more dangerous concrete in other public buildings

More schools in Manchester may have been built with concrete which could suddenly collapse – but the town hall doesn't know it yet. So far, only one school in the city containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has been told by the government that part of its building is currently unsafe.

All Saints C of E Primary School in Newton Heath has had to close its hall after the lightweight building material used from the 1950s to the mid-1990s was found in the roof. It comes after schools were asked by the government to fill in a survey to establish whether RAAC has been used in any of their buildings.

But earlier this week, education secretary Gillian Keegan said that around 1,500 schools are yet to return their surveys. Manchester council has asked the Department for Education (DfE) whether any schools in the city have not completed the questionnaire – but this information has still not been provided.

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The council has confirmed that all 71 schools it is directly responsible for have submitted their surveys as have the schools in the city run by dioceses. But the local authority is still awaiting information about academies run by trusts.

Councillors have also raised concerns that other public buildings such as gyms, swimming pools and care homes could contain this kind of concrete. The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands Manchester council is reviewing all of the buildings it owns in the city in light of the new guidance.

However, all publicly-owned buildings in Manchester remain open as there is currently no evidence that any of them contain RAAC, a council source said. Speaking at a scrutiny meeting on