Is it all political? Seems a bit weird it's all kicked off now. 

It was regularly installed until the mid 90s

Appreciation that it will typically deteriorate to a level where it should be replaced as early as 30yrs after installation only developed in the 1990s. It wasn’t sold as having a design life of 30yrs.

The NHS estate is better maintained than the schools estate because the state of hospitals is a bigger political issue and because - quite rationally, acute healthcare being an industrial process - the maintenance of physical plant and facilities is much more important to NHS workplace culture than it is in education.

Also, the NHS estate was extensively renewed or refurbished in the New Labour years. Schools were too but to a much lesser extent.

Noted. Ta. More useful info there than in amy news report I've seen. 

Nicely timed to create start of term panic. Ffs. Who’s behind this?

Sounds like someone trying to embarrass / undermine the incumbent government. 

Doesn't narrow it down much.

I think there was a long term plan to deal quietly with this, but a recent and sudden collapse has forced their hands.

Everybody thought failures would be telegraphed early in some way, but reality has bitten hard.

‘but a recent and sudden collapse has forced their hands.’
 

Well. Quite.

Perhaps it’s time to explore alternative sources of funding for our NHS estate?

It seems utterly ridiculous that schools are being closed again. 
 

Why can’t the councils get surveyors to assess the roofs over the weekend? Pay the Brough Surveyor overtime if needed. 
 

And every town has empty offices. Use them as temporary classrooms if any are found to be so unsafe that they have to be taken out of service. 
 

There’s no doubt the NEU are behind this. 

And how much of the asbestos will they sort out at the same time?

‘The tragic cost of under-investment’: asbestos blamed for 150 deaths of school and hospital workers in England | Schools | The Guardian

Asbestos harm in schools is real, the data reveals that. If there was going to be an epidemic then it would have happened by now tbh.

The fear with asbestos remediation work is that it creates greater risk of release and exposure than does leaving covered asbestos in place - which is probably right.

Interesting that the figures suggest the asbestos problem is significantly greater in primary schools, and the same seems to be true of the RAAC issue.

That's the point I was making. They can hardly undertake major structural work without disturbing it.

Ahem...

How asbestos could slow efforts to fix crumbling concrete in English schools | Schools | The Guardian

Looks like this maybe landing back at the door of work experience as he was chancellor when cutting back on rebuilding programme.

the coalition government immediately axed the school rebuilding program (which Michael Gove has now admitted was a mistake)

if we'd been replacing and renewing school buildings regularly and progressively over the last 14 years this problem would now be largely solved, at much less cost than it is now going to cost

putting off necessary capital spending is just adding to expense, as we all know 

I'm a reasonably close follower of UK politics

I realised yesterday I had no idea who the education secretary is

I now see it is Gillian Keegan

I have no recollection of seeing or knowing anything about her

who is she and how is she in such a significant position despite being so little known?

She could be the next Mrs Thatcher. 

Mrs Keegan 

Concrete thieving 

She's about the only Cabinet minister I can name. I couldn't remember who the Foreign Secretary was. 

She’s a silent advancer no doubt hoping this doesn’t scupper her progress. it’s a proper national scandal ofc but how do you think the richer end of the middle class in this country make £300k a year for doing what are non jobs? It’s not because government is taxing them to pay for public services.