The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) is gathering a technical expert panel to support government and building owners with the ongoing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) crisis.
The panel will comprise professional bodies and experts across the sector. It will be coordinated by one of the leaders of the CLC’s Building Safety workstream and the chief executive of the Construction Industry Council, Graham Watts.
CLC, which is a joint government and industry body, said it expects to deliver its support in two phases. First, it will assess the current situation and risk levels. Second, it will support the design and delivery of any required remediation programmes across the public sector estate.
The technical expert panel will be tasked with developing a plan to address some of the immediate support required, including the provision of temporary buildings and the availability and competence of inspectors.
A communications group will be also set up to support the expert panel. It will ensure that the information and guidance provided to the industry and building owners are accurate.
Watts said: “While we anticipate that the majority of buildings that contain RAAC will remain safe, there is an urgent need to identify and remedy any risks to the public. As an industry we will support the programme of expert assessment of structures, both public and private, to identify where RAAC has been used and to deal with it to make it safe.
“We will be setting up two groups to take this work forward – a technical expert panel to coordinate our cross-industry response, as well as a communications group. We will be confirming the full membership of both groups shortly, and their work will start immediately.”
