Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-19673

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish a register of public sector buildings that have been found to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Maintaining the safety of buildings is the responsibility of building owners. Our focus remains on engagement with public sector organisations to gauge awareness and response to this issue. This will include receipt of information on the status of buildings in the public sector. A decision on whether there is a need to establish a register of buildings would be based upon the information received and subsequent input from our Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety.

Question reference: S6W-19677

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has identified whether reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is present in any Scottish Government buildings.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken an inspection for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the Core SG Estate since 2021 and as such has not identified any reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the core SG estate.

A specialist has been appointed to support the development of a scope to undertake building inspection surveys which will also assist in identifying the presence of Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in the Core Estate. The Core Estate is defined as those sites/buildings where SG Directorates operate from.

Question reference: S6W-19688

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the NHS National Services Scotland safety action notice issued on 22 February 2023, whether it has a copy of any NHS board contingency plans in place to deal with an adverse incident involving reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete planks should it occur.

Question reference: S6W-19685

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the availability of qualified structural engineers with specific experience in reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete to undertake survey work, as required by NHS National Services Scotland in its safety action notice issued on 22 February 2023.

Question reference: S6W-19681

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has (a) made any estimate and (b) had any discussions regarding the cost of (i) managing the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in public sector buildings and (ii) removing RAAC from any such buildings entirely, and how much has been spent to date on addressing RAAC in public sector buildings.

We are engaging with public sector organisations to seek reassurance of both their awareness and of any action identified on this issue.

From our discussions with local authorities regarding RAAC to date, West Lothian Council indicated that addressing RAAC issues across its estate could cost around £76.8m, whilst East Lothian Council advised that costs relating to one affected school are estimated at around £3.8 million. The current information gathering exercise offers the opportunity to identify similar assessment made by other local authorities.

NHS Scotland Assure are conducting a survey programme which will confirm how many buildings in the NHS estate contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Work undertaken as part of the programme has included a desktop review, pilot and prioritisation exercises by an appointed survey partner at a cost of just over £150,000 to date. It is not currently possible to assess costs until this survey work is complete.

Question reference: S6W-19686

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any estimate of the number of public sector buildings currently (a) partially and (b) fully closed due to issues related to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, broken down by (i) building type and (ii) location.

As noted in the reply to S6W-19672, five organisations have contacted The Scottish Government on the presence or suspected presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within their building estate.

At this time, the following public sector buildings are reported to us as partially or fully closed:

Building type	No.	Location	Partially or fully closed?
School	1	East Lothian	Partially closed
School	5	West Lothian	4 partially closed, 1 fully closed
Police Scotland property	1	Edinburgh	Partially closed
Police Scotland property	1	Dundee	Partially closed

We will continue to work collaboratively with local authorities’ Scottish Heads of Property Services network and Scottish Futures Trust to better understand the presence of RAAC across the school estate.

Question reference: S6W-19674

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that every public sector body is aware of the risks and dangers of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Question reference: S6W-19687

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any risk posed to the effective operation of public services by any future disruption caused by (a) managing and (b) removing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and how any disruption will be minimised for (i) children and young people learning in school, (ii) patients undergoing treatment and (iii) other groups of people using public services.

It is the statutory duty of local authorities, the NHS and other public service providers to manage and maintain their estate. We have been in close contact with local authorities, the NHS and others and expect contingency plans to be in place to minimise any potential disruption to services. We will continue to engage across sectors to direct public and private sector organisations towards guidance and good practice with regards to identifying, assessing and managing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Question reference: S6W-19675

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued to (a) local authorities, (b) NHS boards and (c) other public sector bodies regarding reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

The Scottish Government has issued guidance on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) to Local Authorities via the Scottish Heads of Property Services and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland.

NHS Scotland Assure, which is leading the national RAAC survey programme of the NHS estate on behalf of Scottish Government, issued a Safety Action Notice to Health Boards in February 2023 on the risk of catastrophic structural failure of RAAC planks in building roofing, walls, and flooring. This guidance note included recommendations on identification, risk management, monitoring and replacement of RAAC planks where necessary.

Question reference: S6W-19683

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports on 14 June 2023 that the UK Government has launched an expanded government-wide inquiry into the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, whether the Scottish Government has any plans to launch a similar programme of investigations and reporting.