Britain’s reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete crisis is entering a different construction phase. The immediate response of emergency surveys, temporary propping, restricted rooms and relocatable classrooms has not disappeared, but permanent roof replacement, structural remediation, demolition and whole-building renewal are increasingly moving into procurement and delivery.
That transition makes 2026–2027 commercially important. The Department for Education is working towards a 2029 deadline for permanent removal or active rebuilding across the affected education estate. NHS trusts must continue removing RAAC from individual buildings while seven hospitals constructed predominantly from the material wait for replacement through the New Hospital Programme. Councils, universities, courts and social landlords are also producing a more fragmented stream of local projects.
The result is not one centrally controlled national RAAC market. It is a layered public-estate workload ranging from six-figure investigation and design commissions to roof replacements, occupied-building interventions and multibillion-pound hospital programmes whose main construction extends into the 2030s.
RAAC remediation in 2026–27 is best understood as a transition from temporary risk control into permanent public-estate renewal. The immediate opportunity lies primarily in investigations, design, roof and panel replacement, temporary works, decanting and consequential refurbishment—not in treating the entire value of national school and hospital programmes as RAAC expenditure.
Jump to: By the numbers | The workload transition | Temporary versus permanent work | Schools | NHS estate | London pipeline | Councils and community buildings | Social housing | Devolved nations | Procurement | Work packages | Technical approaches | Delivery risks | Outlook | Industry actions | FAQ
By the Numbers: The RAAC Position Entering 2026–27
| Public-Estate Indicator | Reported Position | Construction Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Education settings in England on the final published confirmed-RAAC list | 237 settings | A closed historic total rather than a live count of buildings still awaiting work. |
| Schools and colleges where RAAC had been permanently removed by February 2026 | 71 | Confirms measurable progress while leaving a continuing remediation and rebuilding pipeline. |
| School Rebuilding Programme projects currently listed | 524 projects | The programme includes condition-led projects beyond RAAC and should not be treated as a RAAC-only portfolio. |
| Long-term School Rebuilding Programme investment | Almost £20bn to 2034–35 | Provides a broader capital route for severely affected schools, but is not wholly attributable to RAAC. |
| Additional schools due to join the rebuilding programme | 250 by early 2027 | Creates a continuing pipeline of condition-led education projects beyond the original RAAC response. |
| Hospitals confirmed RAAC-free in the September 2025 government update | Seven hospitals | A further 12 were targeted for completion by March 2026, but a later confirmation of all 12 completions was not identified by the research cut-off. |
| Hospitals built predominantly from RAAC requiring replacement | Seven | Their final replacement schemes are now expected to complete in 2032–33 rather than by 2030. |
| Investment required by the seven RAAC hospitals by 2025 to prevent structural failure | More than £500m | Demonstrates the cost of maintaining operational buildings while permanent replacement is delayed. |
| Scottish social homes with confirmed RAAC in the latest regulator dataset | 2,445 homes across 16 landlords | Shows that housing represents a material but locally managed second wave of investigation and remediation. |
| Additional Scottish social homes still under investigation | 667 homes | Future project volume remains capable of changing as detailed surveys progress. |
Data warning: these figures are not all measured on the same date or in the same way. A “setting” may contain several buildings or blocks, while a hospital site may contain RAAC in only part of its estate. Completed temporary mitigation is also not equivalent to permanent removal.
The Workload Is Moving Beyond Emergency Response
The first national phase of the RAAC response was dominated by discovery and immediate safety. Building owners needed to establish whether the material was present, determine whether occupation could continue and install temporary measures where the risk could not be accepted. The 2026–27 phase is different. Many responsible bodies now know where the confirmed material is located. Their problem is moving from risk management into a permanent solution while maintaining education, healthcare, housing, court or community services.
This transition creates four overlapping construction markets:
• continuing intrusive investigation, monitoring and structural assessment;
• permanent local strengthening or supporting structures;
• complete roof, floor or wall-panel replacement;
• demolition and wider building reconstruction where local repair is technically or economically unsuitable.
The work should not be described as a single boom. School schemes are comparatively advanced and often move through established Department for Education routes. NHS replacement hospitals have much longer preconstruction and funding timelines. Council and housing projects emerge individually through local asset programmes, budget decisions and procurement notices.
Temporary Risk Control Is Not Permanent Remediation
| Type of Intervention | Purpose | Does It Remove the Long-Term RAAC Liability? |
|---|---|---|
| Structural monitoring and periodic inspection | Tracks condition and changes in identified panels or supports. | No. It supports risk management but does not replace the material. |
| Temporary propping or restricted occupation | Reduces immediate collapse exposure or removes people from the affected area. | No. It can remain necessary until permanent works are completed. |
| Relocatable classrooms or temporary clinical accommodation | Maintains public services while the original space is unavailable. | No. This is an operational continuity measure. |
| Permanent supplementary steel or timber support | Provides a designed alternative load path where retention is justified. | Potentially. It may form a permanent engineered solution but does not physically remove the RAAC. |
| Panel, roof, floor or wall replacement | Removes the affected construction and installs a new structural and weathering system. | Yes, within the completed scope. |
| Demolition and whole-building replacement | Replaces an asset where extensive RAAC, poor condition or functional obsolescence makes local repair unsuitable. | Yes. It also creates a substantially larger capital project. |
The distinction matters when estimating market size. Temporary classrooms, monitoring and propping generate legitimate construction and consultancy expenditure, but counting them as completed remediation gives a false impression of progress. Equally, counting the entire value of a replacement school or hospital as RAAC remediation can exaggerate the material-specific market.
Schools: The Most Mature Permanent-Works Pipeline
Education remains the most visible and organised RAAC programme. The final published Department for Education list identified 237 settings in England with confirmed RAAC. That is a historic confirmed universe, not the number still awaiting work in July 2026. The government’s Education Estates Strategy, published in February 2026, states that RAAC had been permanently removed from 71 schools and colleges. It also commits to making every affected setting not undergoing full or substantial rebuilding RAAC-free by 2029. Every affected school requiring rebuilding through the School Rebuilding Programme is expected to be in delivery by that point.
The same strategy commits almost £20 billion to the wider School Rebuilding Programme through 2034–35, covering more than 750 schools and sixth-form colleges. There are currently 524 projects listed in the programme, with another 250 schools due to be selected by early 2027. Those programme totals must be used carefully. The School Rebuilding Programme also covers severe condition, structural and capacity needs unrelated to RAAC. It is therefore evidence of a stable education-construction pipeline, but not evidence that £20 billion will be spent solely on RAAC.
The October 2026 Temporary-Building Deadline
A temporary permitted-development right was introduced in October 2023 to allow relocatable buildings on RAAC-affected school sites without the normal planning route. It can currently be used until 24 October 2026. A June 2026 government consultation acknowledges that not all schools will have completed permanent remediation by that date. It proposes extending the right for two years, to October 2028. The government said the temporary arrangement had supported more than 50 schools.
This is an important construction signal. It demonstrates that a proportion of education projects remain dependent on temporary accommodation while permanent replacement buildings or structural works progress. It does not necessarily force every scheme to complete by October 2026, because the proposed extension may be enacted, but it does confirm that the emergency phase has lasted longer than originally anticipated.
Likely 2026–27 school workload: detailed design, intrusive surveys, roof replacement, demolition, asbestos removal, temporary weather protection, service diversions, modular accommodation, new teaching blocks and staged decanting around term dates.
NHS Estate: Removal Work Now, Replacement Hospitals Later
The NHS programme contains two separate types of construction opportunity that should not be confused. The first is the rolling removal programme across hospitals where RAAC can be removed from individual roofs, floors or blocks without replacing the entire hospital. A September 2025 government update confirmed that seven more hospitals had eradicated RAAC and that up to £440 million was supporting the programme that year.
The seven confirmed completed sites were:
• Kidderminster Hospital;
• Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford;
• Homerton University Hospital in London;
• Scunthorpe General Hospital;
• Churchill Hospital in Oxford;
• Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead;
• New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.
A further 12 hospitals were described as being on track to complete removal by the end of March 2026. The absence of a later consolidated confirmation means that target should not automatically be reported as fully achieved. The second programme concerns the seven hospitals constructed wholly or predominantly from RAAC. An independent assessment had recommended replacement by 2030. The National Audit Office’s January 2026 assessment concluded that the final RAAC replacement schemes were instead expected to complete in 2032–33.
By 2025, those seven hospitals had required more than £500 million of investment to prevent structural failure. The NAO also reported that NHS trusts with buildings scheduled for replacement through the wider New Hospital Programme could face between £100 million and £140 million a year in additional maintenance costs. That annual estimate relates to hospital buildings awaiting replacement across the programme and should not be attributed exclusively to the seven RAAC hospitals.
For 2026–27, the most immediate health-estate workload is therefore likely to include:
• continuing structural inspection and monitoring;
• temporary and permanent secondary support;
• targeted removal from individual hospital blocks;
• enabling works, surveys and business-case development;
• ward, theatre, plant and service decant strategies;
• early design and preconstruction activity for replacement hospitals.
The central commercial warning is that the full value of the New Hospital Programme is not an immediately available RAAC contract market. Its March 2025 business case estimated a total programme capital cost of around £56 billion, but that includes scores of hospital schemes and wider clinical renewal extending to 2045–46. London Construction Magazine’s analysis of the proposed St Mary’s Hospital redevelopment in Paddington illustrates the wider problem: existing hospitals must remain clinically operational while ageing structures, backlog maintenance, service constraints and future replacement programmes overlap.
London’s RAAC Workload Is Already Visible in Procurement
London presents a concentrated version of the national public-estate problem. Schools, libraries, leisure facilities, theatres, hospitals and courts constructed during the main RAAC period are operating within a region where temporary accommodation, access, logistics and decanting are unusually expensive.
| London Project | Published Scope | Value or Status | Construction Signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park View School, Haringey | Design and contract management for RAAC removal, complete roof replacement and consequential works. | £557,464 design-team contract awarded to Rivington Street Studio in January 2026. | Shows the level of professional input required before the principal works package reaches construction. |
| Kenneth More Theatre, Redbridge | Replacement of the RAAC roof. | Estimated at £1.2m excluding VAT, with an indicative contract period extending into January 2028. | Demonstrates how one civic building can create a multiyear specialist roofing contract. |
| South Woodford Library and Leisure Centre with Central Library | Removal of RAAC panels, roof replacement and installation of solar panels. | Estimated at £1.6m including VAT. | Shows RAAC removal being combined with energy and estate-improvement work rather than delivered as isolated replacement. |
| London Oratory School | Professional consultancy supporting the DfE grant application and project development for RAAC wall removal. | £144,000 including VAT, with a contract capable of extending to 2035 if delays occur. | Illustrates the long technical and funding-development period that can precede physical remediation. |
| Hornsey Library, Haringey | RAAC remediation works within an operational public library asset. | Procurement notice published in June 2026. | Adds to evidence of a continuing borough-level civic-estate pipeline. |
The reopened Harrow Crown Court provides a completed comparison. Its three-year closure and reported £26 million overhaul show how a material defect can become a wider operational crisis when a public building is removed from service. LCM examined what the project signals for London public-estate remediation and RAAC risk. London’s real exposure may also extend beyond the original screening assumptions. LCM has previously examined the implications of RAAC being identified in buildings from the 1990s, where incomplete records and narrow age-based screening could allow risks to surface late during refurbishment.
Councils and Community Buildings: A Fragmented Middle Market
There is no comprehensive live UK register for RAAC in libraries, leisure centres, theatres, civic offices, community centres or depots. Projects instead appear through local cabinet papers, capital programmes and individual procurement notices. This fragmentation creates a market that can be substantial in aggregate but difficult to forecast. One council may proceed with complete roof replacement, another may install permanent supports, and a third may conclude that the building’s remaining value does not justify major investment.
The decision is rarely based on structural condition alone. Public bodies must also consider:
• the continuing operational need for the building;
• its accessibility and energy performance;
• asbestos and fire-safety liabilities;
• whether services and finishes must be replaced with the roof;
• temporary relocation costs;
• whether demolition and redevelopment offer better whole-life value.
For regional contractors, building surveyors and structural engineers, these projects may be more accessible than national rebuilding programmes. Their values commonly sit in the range where councils can use local frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems or individual competitions.
Social Housing Is the Clearest Emerging Second Wave
Scotland currently provides the most transparent housing-sector evidence. The latest published Scottish Housing Regulator dataset identified 2,445 homes with confirmed RAAC across 16 social landlords. Another 667 homes across four landlords remained under investigation, while 145 landlords had confirmed no RAAC in their tenants’ homes. The figures were published in November 2024 and should not be presented as a newly measured July 2026 total. They nevertheless remain the most complete official national housing dataset identified for this analysis.
Housing work differs from school and hospital remediation because interventions may affect occupied homes within the same terrace, block or estate. Programmes may require:
• resident consultation and temporary decanting;
• shared-roof access across mixed-tenure properties;
• valuation and mortgage evidence;
• coordination between landlords and private owners;
• weather protection over multiple dwellings;
• reinstatement of insulation, ceilings, services and internal finishes.
New Institution of Structural Engineers guidance for Scottish residential property, published in January 2026, separates initial appraisal from detailed structural assessment. Its publication reflects a housing problem that has moved beyond general awareness into repeatable professional investigation and remediation.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Must Be Read Separately
English DfE programmes, targets and funding routes do not apply across the whole UK. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland manage their own education and public-estate capital programmes.
Scotland has the clearest housing evidence and dedicated residential assessment guidance. Remediation decisions remain distributed between councils, housing associations, universities, colleges and other public bodies rather than controlled through one national construction programme.
Wales has managed identified cases through Welsh Government and local-authority estate arrangements. The evidence reviewed did not establish a current national pipeline comparable with England’s School Rebuilding Programme.
Northern Ireland has identified RAAC within parts of the public estate, but no sufficiently current consolidated register was found for this analysis. The lack of a single dataset should not be mistaken for proof that no future workload exists.
How the Work Is Reaching the Market
There is no single national RAAC framework covering every public body. The route to market depends on the estate owner, project value, urgency and whether the intervention is a local repair or a full rebuilding project.
| Estate or Project Type | Likely Procurement Route | Likely Market Participants |
|---|---|---|
| Complete school rebuilding | Department for Education construction framework and programme delivery arrangements. | Tier 1 and regional main contractors with education, modular and occupied-site capability. |
| School roof or component replacement | DfE grant route, academy-trust tender, local-authority framework or dynamic purchasing system. | Regional contractors, roofing firms, structural engineers, asbestos specialists and MEP subcontractors. |
| Hospital RAAC removal | NHS capital programme, trust procurement, healthcare construction framework or direct framework call-off. | Healthcare contractors and specialists capable of phased work in live clinical environments. |
| Replacement RAAC hospitals | New Hospital Programme and Hospital 2.0 delivery arrangements, subject to business-case approval. | Major contractors and national consultants, with substantial specialist subcontracting packages. |
| Council or community buildings | Local frameworks, London Construction Programme, SCAPE, Pagabo, minor-works contracts or individual tenders. | Regional SMEs, specialist contractors, designers and building surveyors. |
| Social housing programmes | Housing capital programme, measured-term contract, regional framework or estate-based tender. | Roofing contractors, resident-liaison teams, temporary-works firms and local refurbishment specialists. |
Early contractor involvement is particularly valuable because tender information may not fully define panel condition, bearings, access, existing services or asbestos. A single-stage fixed-price competition before sufficient investigation can transfer risk without removing it, leading to high contingencies, exclusions or later compensation events.
The Construction Packages Behind Permanent RAAC Remediation
RAAC is a structural-material issue, but permanent removal rarely remains a single structural package. Once a roof or floor is opened, multiple systems may need to be removed, protected, upgraded and reinstated.
| Work Package | RAAC Relevance | Principal Delivery Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Structural investigation | Confirms panel form, condition, reinforcement, bearing and evidence of water exposure or previous alteration. | Desktop records may be incomplete or inaccurate. |
| Temporary works | Supports affected panels, enables safe access and maintains stability during removal. | Temporary load paths and sequencing must be coordinated with the existing structure. |
| Scaffolding and temporary roofing | Creates safe access and protects occupied buildings during roof-off work. | Wind loading, fire strategy, escape routes and limited site space can dominate the temporary design. |
| Asbestos management | Older roofs, ceilings, insulation and service zones may contain asbestos materials disturbed by remediation. | Unexpected asbestos can stop work, change sequencing and increase decant requirements. |
| Controlled demolition and lifting | Panels may require carefully sequenced removal rather than conventional breaking. | Fragile material, hidden reinforcement and restricted crane access complicate handling. |
| Replacement structure | May use steel, timber, lightweight deck systems or new concrete depending on the building. | Additional weight, altered load paths and interface details must suit the retained structure. |
| Roofing and waterproofing | The replacement structure needs a complete durable weathering and drainage strategy. | Temporary exposure and incomplete interfaces can cause further water damage. |
| MEP diversions | Lighting, ventilation, fire alarms, medical gases, data and other services may be fixed beneath affected construction. | Operational continuity can be more difficult than the structural removal itself. |
| Fire and internal reinstatement | Ceilings, fire stopping, compartment walls and finishes may need replacement or upgrading. | The completed system must be evidenced, inspected and coordinated across multiple trades. |
Technical Solutions Must Remain Building-Specific
There is no universal RAAC remediation detail. The appropriate response depends on panel type, span, bearing, reinforcement, moisture exposure, deflection, previous alterations, supporting structure and the operational needs of the building.
The Health and Safety Executive advises building owners and managers to establish whether RAAC is present, seek competent structural-engineering advice and create an appropriate management plan. HSE also highlights the possibility that remediation or collapse could disturb asbestos.
The Institution of Structural Engineers’ RAAC resources provide guidance on investigation, assessment and potential remediation. Those documents should inform—not replace—building-specific engineering judgement.
Potential interventions may include:
• continued monitoring where a competent assessment justifies retention;
• local bearing enhancement;
• supplementary steel or timber supports;
• removal of isolated panels;
• complete replacement of a roof or floor zone;
• demolition of an affected block;
• whole-building replacement where structural condition and functional obsolescence combine.
A solution that is suitable for a low-rise housing roof may be unsuitable for a hospital ward, theatre, school hall or listed building. Clients should therefore be cautious of suppliers presenting one proprietary method as the automatic answer to every RAAC condition.
Why Apparently Simple Roof Replacement Becomes a Wider Project
The central programme risk is scope expansion after the contract has been priced. RAAC may be the reason the project started, but it is rarely the only defect encountered once the building fabric is opened.
Incomplete records: historic drawings may not show every panel, alteration, service penetration or bearing condition.
Concealed construction: ceilings, roof finishes and services can prevent reliable assessment without intrusive opening.
Asbestos: material in ceilings, insulation, coatings or service zones can alter the removal method and programme.
Occupied buildings: schools, hospitals, courts and homes often need to remain operational during at least part of the work.
Restricted working windows: education projects may target holiday periods, concentrating contractor and temporary-roofing demand into short seasonal windows.
Building-regulation consequences: removing a roof may trigger improvements to thermal performance, drainage, fire safety and access that extend beyond like-for-like replacement.
Temporary accommodation: modular units, ward moves or resident decants can become critical-path packages in their own right.
Weather: once the building is opened, temporary weather protection and rapid sequencing are essential to prevent additional damage.
Competence and evidence: clients need structural, temporary-works, asbestos, fire, roofing and building-services expertise supported by inspection records and a clear handover file.
The RAAC Workload from 2026 to 2035
| Period | Likely Workload | Principal Uncertainty |
|---|---|---|
| Remainder of 2026 | School summer works, Class CB planning decision, live council tenders, NHS removal packages and continued assessment. | Whether temporary-school planning rights are formally extended to October 2028. |
| 2026–27 | Permanent school roof and block replacements, public-library and theatre projects, hospital mitigation and housing assessment. | The precise number of projects moving from investigation into funded construction. |
| 2027–29 | Continuation of the DfE commitment to remove RAAC or place affected rebuilds into delivery, alongside newly selected SRP projects. | Programme capacity, school decanting and whether construction inflation erodes the available capital envelope. |
| 2030–33 | Major construction and completion pressure around the seven replacement RAAC hospitals. | Business-case approvals, Hospital 2.0 delivery, clinical planning, funding and further delay. |
| To 2035 | Government target to eliminate RAAC from the NHS estate, combined with residual housing and wider public-building work. | Whether previously unidentified buildings and inaccessible panels create additional work beyond the planned programme. |
Five Findings That Challenge the Original RAAC Narrative
1. Schools are no longer the only significant market. The education response is the most mature, but NHS replacement, Scottish housing and local civic projects extend the workload well beyond classrooms.
2. Permanent work is not always demolition. Some buildings can justify local strengthening or complete roof replacement while retaining the wider asset.
3. The hospital problem lasts longer than the school deadline. The final replacement RAAC hospitals are not expected to complete until 2032–33, with the wider NHS target extending to 2035.
4. Temporary accommodation is still influencing permanent delivery. The proposed planning extension for relocatable school buildings confirms that replacement projects have not all progressed at the original speed.
5. The largest evidence gap now lies outside schools and hospitals. There is still no single current UK register covering council offices, housing, courts, prisons, emergency services, universities and other public buildings.
What Construction Businesses Should Do Now
| Business Type | Priority Action |
|---|---|
| Structural consultants | Develop clear investigation scopes that distinguish visual inspection, opening-up, assessment, monitoring and permanent design. |
| Main contractors | Price occupied-building logistics, temporary roofing, asbestos, services and consequential reinstatement rather than treating RAAC as a stand-alone structural item. |
| Roofing and envelope contractors | Secure temporary-weathering, lifting and replacement-system capability before seasonal school workloads tighten capacity. |
| Temporary-works firms | Prepare for projects requiring both immediate risk mitigation and construction-stage support within constrained occupied buildings. |
| Asbestos and demolition specialists | Engage early so hazardous-material constraints and panel-removal methods are integrated into programme and cost planning. |
| SMEs and regional contractors | Track local authority notices, academy-trust tenders, council capital papers and dynamic purchasing systems rather than watching only national frameworks. |
| Public clients | Complete sufficient intrusive investigation before transferring price and programme risk into a construction contract. |
Evidence-Based Summary
RAAC remediation is becoming a permanent public-estate construction programme rather than remaining an emergency inspection exercise.
The strongest immediate workload lies in school remediation, roof and panel replacement, public-building projects and continuing NHS mitigation.
The seven replacement RAAC hospitals create a much longer programme, with final completions currently expected in 2032–33.
The School Rebuilding Programme provides a major education pipeline, but its full £20 billion value must not be described as RAAC expenditure.
Scottish housing data confirms that RAAC is not confined to schools and hospitals, although the housing workload remains locally managed and uneven.
London procurement notices already show live design and construction packages covering schools, theatres, libraries and leisure buildings.
Scope uncertainty, asbestos, occupied-building logistics, temporary weather protection and services integration are likely to determine commercial outcomes as much as the RAAC removal itself.
FAQ: RAAC Remediation and the 2026–27 Public Estate
How many schools in England were confirmed to contain RAAC?
The final published Department for Education list identified 237 education settings. That figure is a historic confirmed total and should not be described as the number still awaiting work in July 2026.
How many schools have permanently removed RAAC?
The February 2026 Education Estates Strategy states that RAAC had been permanently removed from 71 schools and colleges.
Is the entire School Rebuilding Programme a RAAC programme?
No. The programme also addresses serious condition, structural and capacity needs unrelated to RAAC. Its almost £20 billion investment should not be counted as RAAC-only expenditure.
What happens to temporary classrooms after October 2026?
The temporary permitted-development right currently expires on 24 October 2026. The government has proposed extending it to October 2028 because not all permanent works will be complete by the original date.
Have the 12 NHS hospitals targeted for March 2026 all removed RAAC?
The September 2025 government announcement said they were on track to complete by March 2026. This analysis did not identify a later consolidated announcement confirming that every one of the 12 had completed removal.
When will the seven major RAAC hospitals be replaced?
The National Audit Office reported that the final replacement schemes are currently expected to complete in 2032–33, later than the original 2030 target.
Does RAAC always require demolition?
No. Depending on the building-specific engineering assessment, options may include monitoring, local support, supplementary structures, panel replacement, complete roof replacement or demolition.
Why can a RAAC roof project become expensive?
The project may also require scaffolding, temporary roofing, asbestos removal, service diversions, insulation, fire-stopping, drainage, ceilings, finishes and temporary accommodation.
Are homes affected by RAAC?
Yes. The latest Scottish Housing Regulator dataset identified 2,445 affected social homes across 16 landlords, with another 667 homes under investigation at the time of publication.
Is 2026–27 the peak of the RAAC market?
It is likely to be an important period for permanent school, civic-building and housing works, but the NHS replacement programme extends well into the 2030s. Different public-estate sectors will peak at different times.
Authoritative Source Context
Education progress and long-term capital context are drawn primarily from the Department for Education’s Education Estates Strategy and the current School Rebuilding Programme project list. The temporary-school planning position is drawn from the June 2026 permitted-development consultation. The hospital replacement timetable and programme costs are drawn from the National Audit Office’s Update on the New Hospital Programme, published in January 2026. NHS removal progress is drawn from the September 2025 Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England announcement confirming seven completed hospitals and a further 12 targeted for March 2026. Housing figures are drawn from the Scottish Housing Regulator. Technical risk-management context is drawn from guidance published by the Health and Safety Executive and Institution of Structural Engineers.
Source Context and Editorial Note
This article is an independent London Construction Magazine assessment of publicly available information as at 15 July 2026. It distinguishes confirmed construction awards from programme funding, planned projects, historic totals and unverified completion targets. It does not present temporary mitigation as permanent removal or treat the total value of national rebuilding programmes as RAAC expenditure. No complete live UK register exists covering every RAAC-affected school, hospital, home, council building, court, prison, university or defence asset. The absence of a published project from this analysis should therefore not be interpreted as proof that no RAAC risk or future workload exists.
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Expert Verification & Authorship: Mihai Chelmus
Founder, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist |
