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High speed rail link building site
The problematic HS2 railway project reflects wider concerns with British infrastructure
(Image credit: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty)

Lately, it can seem as though Britain is crumbling around us. A number of schools in England have had to close while hundreds of others will have to do without buildings that are at risk of collapse, the government announced this week, leaving thousands of pupils facing a return to lockdown-era remote learning.

The culprit? Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a “crumbly” material widely used in building from the 1950s until the mid-1990s. Ministers are under pressure to explain why they waited until now to announce the decision – just days before the new school year begins – when the risks of RAAC have been known since 2018.

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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.