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-19684

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 meetings ministers have had about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and whether it will publish the minutes and any other documentation that accompanied these.

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-19670

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 when ministers last met with NHS boards to discuss the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in buildings and action to (a) manage and (b) remove it.

The Scottish Government is working closely with NHS Scotland Assure and all NHS Boards to establish the current position with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Once the survey programme has assessed properties that may contain RAAC and it's extent within the NHS Estate has been determined, the Health Infrastructure and Sustainability Division within Scottish Government will consider whether Ministerial meetings with NHS Boards are required.

Question reference: S6W-19680

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, further to the answer to question S6F-02291 by Humza Yousaf on 29 June 2023, whether it will establish a national fund to assist (a) NHS boards, (b) local authorities and (c) other public sector bodies.

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-19671

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 by what date it expects (a) local authorities, (b) NHS boards and (c) other public sector bodies to (i) have identified reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in buildings, (ii) publish risk management plans and (iii) remove it entirely.

Question reference: S6W-19672

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 which public sector organisations have notified it that they have found or suspect reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete to be in their buildings.

The following organisations have contacted The Scottish Government on the presence or suspected presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within their building estate:

NHS Scotland
Police Scotland
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
East Lothian Council
West Lothian Council

We are in the process of contacting other public bodies to seek reassurance of both their awareness and of any action identified on this issue.

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-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-19668

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 how much funding it will make available to NHS boards that find reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete present in (a) hospital buildings and (b) other NHS board buildings, in order to (i) manage and (ii) remove it.

NHS Scotland Assure are conducting a survey programme which will confirm how many buildings in the NHS Estate contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Once the extent of the programme is determined, the condition will be assessed, thereafter it will be possible to establish the management and removal plans that may be necessary. This means however, that it is not currently possible to assess what these plans might cost until the survey work is complete.