Social Justice Secretary Update On RAAC In Scottish Buildings

8th September 2023

Parliament has been provided with an update on Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).

Shirley-Anne Somerville reiterated to MSPs that the Scottish Government continues to follow professional advice on RAAC, as it always has done and is working with local authorities and other partners to understand the extent of the issue.

Ministers have been reassured that the current guidance of the Institution of Structural Engineers and risk-based approach remains appropriate.

Addressing parliament, Ms Somerville said, "The Scottish Government and the wider public sector has already done much to understand the extent of RAAC issues in Scotland, and we recognise there is more to do. Everyone with the responsibility for building safety takes this matter very seriously.

"Local authorities have a clear responsibility to ensure their schools are safe for pupils, staff and all their users. They are carrying out assessments of all their school buildings.

"We are aware that some parts of the school estate in some councils still need to complete full surveys. Ministers have been clear to authorities that these must be carried out as a matter of highest priority.

"Safety is the central consideration and there is robust guidance which is followed by every local authority to ensure these buildings are safe for the pupils, staff and the public to be in."

COSLA President Shona Morrison said, "The first point to make is that there are many councils who own no buildings where RAAC is present.

“The safety of everyone in Scotland's schools and all other council buildings is of paramount importance to councils. We treat the safety of everyone within our facilities extremely seriously. Scottish local authorities are aware of the RAAC issue in buildings across some of their estates and have regular inspections, put in place mitigations as appropriate and closed some buildings where this is required.

“We would stress that some councils have no RAAC affected buildings. We would reiterate that safety is the central consideration and there is robust guidance to ensure these settings are safe for the public to be in."

Comment
So the RAAC issue gets added to the ASBESTOS and Cladding Issues in our buildings. All of these materials were used for their cheapness and not for their long-term effectiveness. Hard choices ahead for replacing the materials or building new school, hospitals and other buildings.
It appears there were warnings that RAAC had 30 year life safely. So why did no department look at putting an entry in their diary and plan to get rid of it. The Romans made concrete that has lasted over 2000 years so perhaps we need more research and development into getting long lasting materials that will not be affected by our wet climate. Budgets are always under pressure but in the long run many of the cost saving made40 or 50 years ago are coming home to roost.
Thurso High school recently had a block closed but it is not mentioned in any of the lists we looked at.

RAAC planks in turn are effectively made of the same core material as these unreinforced AAC thermal blocks, and they have trade names such as Sipporex, Durox, Celcon or Thermalite. The material is usually light grey or off-white in colour, easily broken or damaged with hand tools or sharp implements.