Publication - FOI/EIR release

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) guidance: FOI release

Published: 11 December 2023
Directorate: Local Government and Housing Directorate
Topic: Building, planning and design, Housing, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/202300369593
Date received: 2 August 2023
Date responded: 30 August 2023

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Information requested

1. Please provide me with a copy of the Scottish Government guidance on Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) provided to local authorities via the Scottish Heads of Property Services and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland.

2. Please provide me with a) a copy of any papers on RAAC that were provided to the Building and Fire Safety: Ministerial Working Group as part of the agenda for the June 21st meeting and b) a copy of the submission with the RAAC paper that was annexed to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, as mentioned in AP2 of the 21st June meeting minutes.

Response

Response to your request (Item 1)
The guidance disseminated by the Scottish Government to the Scottish Heads of Property Services (SHoPS) and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) was produced by the following professional organisations: the Standing Committee on Structural Safety; the Health and Safety Executive; and the Institution of Structural Engineers.

I enclose a copy of the information you have requested under Appendix A, attached separately (Document 1). This includes the presentation by NHS Assure referred to in the email sent to SHoPS and ADES on 11 May 2023 (Document 2).

Response to your request (Item 2)
A copy of the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete paper under agenda item 4 of the Building and Fire Safety Ministerial Working Group meeting is attached at Appendix B (Document 3). A copy of the submission to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, as mentioned in Action Point 2 of the 21st June meeting minutes is provided in Appendix C (Document 4).

FOISA Exemptions

An exemption under Section 29 (1)(a) and (b) of FOISA applies as some of the information relates to the formulation or development of government policy or Ministerial communications applies to some of the information requested.

An exemption under Section 30(b) of FOISA also applies to some of the information requested because it is, ‘free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views’. Information is exempt under sections 30(b) if disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially: (i) the free and frank provision of advice (section 30(b)(i)) or (ii) the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation (section 30(b)(ii)).

An exemption under Section 33 (1)(b) of FOISA also applies to some of the presentation by NHS Assure referred to under item 1 above as disclosure would likely prejudice substantially the commercial interests of NHS Assure for ongoing procurement exercises.

An exemption under Section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

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