Lothian councils have identified £80m of work to tackle dangerous concrete

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today revealed that a pair of Lothian councils have indicated to the Scottish Government that addressing issues arising from the use of a dangerous form of concrete used in public sector construction for decades could cost more than £80m, as he urged the government to get on with setting up a national fund to tackle the issue.

In response to a series of parliamentary questions submitted by Mr Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Government had now revealed that “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 parliamentary questions also noted that across the two local authorities, one school is fully closed and a further five are partially closed. Two Police Scotland properties in Edinburgh and Dundee are also partially closed.  

The Scottish Government also confirmed that NHS Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have been in contact about the presence or suspected presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within their building estate. However, despite these developments no date or funds for identifying and removing RAAC from the public estate has been identified.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Huge sums of money are going to be necessary to make these schools safe for pupils.

“We know that this concrete is in use above patients and pupils. As more public bodies identify sites that are at risk, this will surely be just the first in a salvo of requests to the Scottish Government for help. Ministers should immediately put in place a national fund to help cash-strapped schools, universities, hospitals and more to cope with any remedial works that need to be done.

“I am disappointed to see the Scottish Government declaring that “Building safety is a matter for the owner”. If a social housing block collapses are the Scottish Government suggesting they would simply hold up their hands and say “Oops it’s nothing to do with us”?

“Use of this concrete has already led to a school roof collapsing in England. This is an issue that need to treated as both serious and urgent.”