2. To ask the Scottish Government how many public buildings are currently at risk due to the exposure of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. (S6T-01497)

Survey work is under way across the public sector. Where the presence of RAAC is confirmed in a public building, we expect the owner to take appropriate measures to manage any risk that is identified. We expect risk assessment of buildings with a confirmed RAAC presence and recommendations for mitigation to follow the current guidance published by the Institution of Structural Engineers.

Returns from councils confirm some presence in 37 schools. Councils have reassured ministers that, in the small number of schools where RAAC is present, appropriate mitigation plans are in place.

I am very grateful for that response. I must thank Scottish Liberal Democrats for freedom of information requests that raised the issue as early as May this year. However, the matter is, apparently, something that the Governments north and south of the border have been aware of for a number of years.

Can the Scottish Government confirm that, when it is aware of the list of public buildings that are at risk, it will publish that list, keep it updated and ensure that steps are taken to ensure that buildings are still safe to open?

Of course, this is an issue that the Government has been aware of for some time, which is why action is being taken—and has been being taken for some time. For example, way back in July 2022, Scottish Government officials made contact with the Scottish heads of property services network and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland to share information on RAAC. That work has been on-going for some time.

I completely appreciate why there is public concern on the issue—in particular, given the way that announcements have been handled down in England. However, I reassure Martin Whitfield that we appreciate that that public concern means that we need to be as open as we can possibly be on the matter. Parents and staff are concerned about it.

It is for councils to publish information on schools alongside having communication with parents and staff, because it is important that we reassure them, at both national and local levels, about the mitigations that are already taking place. I confirm that we intend to be as open as—

The Presiding Officer:

Thank you. We will now move back to Martin Whitfield.

I am grateful for the confirmation that the list will be published.

However, what support will follow from that for our local authorities in respect of the money that will be required to ensure that the surveys are undertaken properly, that the mitigation measures are correct and appropriate and, indeed, that they are supported, especially for certain buildings? I am thinking in particular of schools that have lost out because of the lack of publication of the learning estate investment programme.

As I mentioned, it is for local authorities to publish that information on schools. They should do so to ensure that parents and staff are reassured. I again reassure Martin Whitfield that Jenny Gilruth, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, and I are in regular contact with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to ensure that we offer support where it is needed, that we share good practice and information, and that we reaffirm the importance of looking at the professional advice that has come from the Institution of Structural Engineers. We will, of course, keep up that close contact with local authorities as the situation develops.

In recognition that any repairs will result in additional spending commitments for the responsible bodies, what discussion has there been with the United Kingdom Government on capital funding to remediate situations in which the material is found in buildings?

In her letter of 3 September, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills asked the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Education to clarify the public commitment by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to “spend what it takes” to make schools safe. That statement was welcomed, and early details are sought about the financial support package that would follow to devolved Governments. That follows an earlier letter, on 16 August, from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, to His Majesty’s Treasury regarding further financial support to help to deal with the consequences of RAAC, to which we have yet to receive a reply. It is essential that we receive early clarity on the matter.

In Preston Lodge high school in Prestonpans, 20 classrooms are closed and secondary 1 pupils are being taught off-campus. East Lothian Council has already spent more than £300,000 to maintain education standards—a sum that has not been budgeted for at a time of extreme financial pressure for the council. Will the cabinet secretary therefore commit to reimbursing councils and health boards that have incurred significant non-construction and inspection-related costs due to the discovery of RAAC?

I refer Craig Hoy to the answer that I have just given. Clearly, the issue affects Administrations across the United Kingdom, so it is important that the UK Government and the chancellor take cognisance of that.

The cuts to our capital budgets make it difficult, across Government, to fulfil the obligations that we already have. We are, of course, committed to working with local authorities, but, frankly, there is an obligation on the UK Government also to step up and to ensure that everybody is supported on the issue.

It has now been months since I first brought the issue to the attention of the very top of the Scottish Government, but there is still no central register of affected buildings, no strategy for swift wholesale replacement of this potentially deadly concrete, and no national fund for cash-strapped schools, health boards and others that have been landed with it. Mitigation and monitoring offer little reassurance, given the collapse of a concrete beam that was marked as being safe, which prompted the closure of schools across England. Can the cabinet secretary say with confidence today that pupils, patients and staff do not have RAAC in the ceilings above them? Is it possible that that problem concrete is still in use in classrooms and wards right now?

With the greatest respect to Alex Cole-Hamilton, I note that it was not he who brought the issue before the eyes of the Scottish Government. We had been well aware of it for some time and already had plans in place, which is why discovery methods are in place right across Government and the public sector.

I urge Mr Cole-Hamilton to have some caution about what he is advising. I urge him to respect the advice of the Institution of Structural Engineers, which has not changed over the past week, despite what has been happening in England. Let us listen to that professional advice. Let us, of course, also pay close attention if the advice changes. However, it has not changed. Let us ensure that we listen to the professionals and the experts, and that we take action where it is needed. That is exactly why mitigation measures are already in place where RAAC has been identified and measures have been required.

I n December 2021, the Government told the Parliament that it would publish in 2022 the schools that would form phase 3 of the learning estate investment programme. It failed to do so. In May, then in June, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills said that there would be an announcement by the summer recess, but she failed to deliver that announcement. How many schools—such as Dumfries academy—are at risk due to RAAC, and how many schools’ refurbishment or rebuild is being held up because of the failure of the Government to announce the funding that it promised to announce months ago?

With the greatest respect, I note that there are two different issues in that question. Yes—we are, of course, working very closely with councils where RAAC has been identified, as I said in my previous answers.

On the announcement of LEIP phase 3, I hope that everyone across the chamber recognises the very difficult circumstances that exist for all capital projects at the moment—in particular, because of increasing capital costs and construction costs and their implications. It is quite right that the Government takes longer than people would perhaps like us to take to ensure that we are getting the maximum out of that project and are looking at it very seriously. The cabinet secretary will make an announcement on that in due course, when they are ready to do so.