Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) across the public sector in Scotland

Sector responses  

 

Sector:

• core Scottish Government estate
• schools and early learning and childcare
• further and higher education
• health
• Police Scotland
• Scottish Prison Service
• Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service
• Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
• social housing
• wider local authority estate
• public bodies

The following sub sections provide an overview, on a sector by sector basis, of the background to - and progress made – regarding the identification of RAAC and those measures put in place to ensure it is managed appropriately.

The narrative for each sector seeks, in brief, to identify awareness and management of RAAC pre the DfE’s change in attitude to risk on 31 August 2023; activity undertaken subsequent to that date; key issues arising including operational impacts; the current position; timescales for completion of any outstanding assessment work and, where known, longer-term RAAC management plans – with all information as up-to-date as possible.  

Where available, links to relevant external websites are provided which give greater detail concerning ongoing work on the management of RAAC, where discovered, across the various sectors.

Core Scottish Government estate

In seeking to identify any issues with the SG core estate, an internal SG working group was convened to address the investigation of RAAC across both owned and leased buildings. Engagement was also undertaken to notify Chief Executives of tenants on the core SG Estate of the planned activity and the subsequent outcome.

65 core SG estate buildings were subject to a desktop survey and, where necessary, intrusive surveys were carried out. No RAAC was found. There was no impact on service delivery and all buildings remained operational throughout the survey period.

In addition, 13 buildings managed by the Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate – consisting largely of farm or agricultural settings – have also been surveyed, with no RAAC found.

Schools and early learning and childcare (ELC)

Prior to August 2023, the Scottish Government had been engaging with Local Authorities’ Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) and Scottish Heads of Property Services (SHoPS) networks to raise awareness and share guidance regarding RAAC. The Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) had also been in dialogue with West Lothian Council regarding their emerging issues with RAAC. In addition, the Scottish Government and SFT had engaged with the UK Government’s Department for Education regarding their approach to the discovery stage across their learning estate.

To gain an understanding of the extent of RAAC within local authority schools and ELC settings across Scotland, a template questionnaire was developed by SFT and issued to all local authorities in July 2023. These templates asked for information on the age of the school/setting, whether or not any surveys had been undertaken, whether or not RAAC had been identified and what mitigations were either in place or planned. This data was collated by SFT, and helped to inform discussions with local authorities and Scottish Government.

A joint statement was also published on COSLA’s website that linked to a number of LA websites for further information: Joint statement from COSLA and Scottish Government on building safety, with Local Authorities continuing to publish and revise information concerning RAAC on their school estates.

Updates were subsequently requested as local authorities undertook assessments through review of recorded information and site surveys with regular updates on the emerging picture provided through the SHoPS network. Local authorities were also able to share experiences, knowledge of consultants, contractors and costs to assist in managing the situation collaboratively and efficiently.

Across the school and ELC estate, an initial 39 locations were identified with RAAC (from a total of 1,477 buildings assessed as being in scope of the exercise). In some instances, either all or part of the building was closed when RAAC was identified to allow further investigation to take place. Sometimes this could be accommodated by relocating users within the school/setting, whereas in other instances alternative accommodation was required. This included using other schools or providing temporary on-site modular accommodation. In some circumstances only specific subjects, such as PE, needed to be provided off-site.

All buildings within the relevant time period for RAAC have now been confirmed by local authorities to have been assessed. No further assessment or survey work is anticipated at this stage although some projects have ongoing enhanced monitoring regimes in place.

Of the 39 locations (note: there are two co-located schools within the total) identified with RAAC, the current management arrangements by local authorities are as follows:

• six have now completed works to remove RAAC.
• nine are currently on site with works to remove RAAC.
• eight have temporary mitigations in place and are planning works to fully remove RAAC/replace the building.
• 10 have installed additional permanent support structures.
• two buildings are now completely vacated and are scheduled for demolition (note: one was already closed).
• four have assessed their RAAC as being appropriately structurally supported, in good condition and are continuing with a monitoring strategy.

The Scottish Government has also engaged with private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector providers of funded ELC about their responsibilities in relation to RAAC. This has included a letter issued to all daycare of children providers and engagement through the Childcare Sector Working Group.

While the Scottish Government does not have direct responsibility for independent schools whose estates are for them to manage, the Scottish Government is monitoring the number of independent schools which have completed surveys of their estates and have ensured they are aware of the broader guidance available.

Further and higher education

Pre 31 August 2023 there had been some interaction with institutions that had known of the presence of RAAC in their estate and had been monitoring it for some time. Subsequent to this, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) have, on behalf of the Scottish Government, issued three questionnaires to all universities and colleges to obtain information on the presence or otherwise of RAAC in their estate. Where the presence of RAAC has been confirmed, information has also included details such as what mitigations have been put in place and, where possible, timetables for remediation. SFC also ensured that all institutions were provided with the latest guidance on RAAC provided by industry experts such as IStructE.

From a total of 53 locations across 18 institutions in the higher and further education estate confirmed as containing RAAC, 34 buildings have been fully or partially closed. Where teaching has been affected institutions have, wherever possible, put alternative arrangements in place to ensure student learning is not affected.

A full list of affected colleges and universities is available on the SFC website Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) - Scottish Funding Council. All assessment/survey work in institution owned buildings has been completed.

Further detail on RAAC can be found on individual institutions’ websites, although the extent of the information provided differs from institution to institution. All institutions have ensured that the users of those buildings affected by RAAC (mainly staff and students) have been kept up to date on the situation. 

Of the 18 institutions with confirmed presence of RAAC, 14 are planning remedial works, with many having completed interim or minor remedial works. Monitoring is in place in those institutions where remedial work is not planned.

Health

As referred to above, following the collapse of a school roof in 2018, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety (SCOSS) alerted NHS Scotland Assure to the issue of RAAC and a communication was issued to NHS Boards in November 2019.

Subsequent steps have included:

• February 2020 – paper presented by NHS Scotland Assure to the NHS Strategic Facilities Group outlining a proposal for identifying and managing RAAC across the NHS estate
• May 2021 – NHS Assure gather a local assessment of RAAC from each local NHS Board, and conclude that a national survey programme would be best
• January 2022 - independent structural engineer appointed to advise on the implementation of the RAAC survey programme
• April 2022 – NHS Boards are advised that they should monitor RAAC planks as part of their routine maintenance programme
• November 2022 – lead adviser is appointed and the desktop survey programme starts
• February 2023 – NSS Incident Reporting and Investigation Centre (IRIC) published Safety Action Notice - SAN2302 - RAAC planks in building, roofing, walls and flooring
• July 2023 – On-site discovery survey programme commenced
• April 2024 – Discovery survey programme complete (except for several revisits and several later additions)
• May 2024 – three pilot detailed surveys commissioned to inform a programme to undertake a detailed survey of all buildings with RAAC in the NHS Estate.

As part of the wider communication and engagement process, an NHS Scotland RAAC Steering Group and Technical Sub-group have been established to guide NHS Scotland Assure and the NHS Boards through the discovery and detailed survey phases to provide a full picture of the extent and condition of RAAC in the NHS Scotland Estate. The groups continue to develop the next stage of RAAC response and are looking toward how NHS Boards will live with RAAC in their estate for many years to come.

NHS Scotland Assure and their Structural Engineer Survey Partner have held several RAAC information sessions, have produced an FAQ guide and are producing a formal Guidance document, with on-site detailed training sessions delivered to all except two NHS Boards during the summer of 2024. The Discovery survey programme was based on a desktop triage process which identified whether any building had a likelihood of containing RAAC – this was applied to every building in the NHS Estate.

Initially 395 buildings, based on the data provided to NHS Scotland Assure by the NHS Boards, were given a likelihood ranking of containing RAAC which provided a prioritised list of surveys to be undertaken. This number increased to 545 as NHS Boards became more aware of RAAC and its characteristics through the information sessions. The increase also illustrated the scale of the NHS Estate and that all required data on the Estate is not always immediately available. The final number of buildings being surveyed as of August 2024 stands at 560. Although all buildings have been visited for a survey to be undertaken, full access was not available at a small number and revisits are being made.                                                                               

It was apparent at an early stage that asbestos in buildings would be a significant challenge which was mitigated when required by engaging a qualified asbestos surveyor to accompany the surveying team. RAAC has been found in 51 buildings in total (as of 28 August 2024). One property was vacated in September 2023, Denburn Health Centre (this had long been planned and the final moves were expedited as a result of RAAC ‘discovery’) and one property at the Western General Hospital has been handed to demolition contractors (this was planned prior to RAAC being ‘discovered’).

All buildings require additional monitoring (annually or triennially) and management with some requiring minor remediation, but nothing so far that has been too disruptive. The current first phase of the survey programme is providing generic remedial structural details which would address the majority of instances of poor quality RAAC which have been found to date through the Discovery phase of the survey programme.

From the outset, it was requested that all NHS Boards publish a list of survey progress. The survey list and a link to each of the NHS Board’s RAAC webpage is available on the NHSScotland Assure RAAC webpage: Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) Discovery Survey Programme - List of Properties | National Services Scotland.

The NHS Scotland RAAC Steering Group have produced a document titled ‘The Approach to RAAC in the Health and Social Care in Scotland’ – this document is expected to evolve as the survey programme continues and on the advice from the Steering Group – it is the intention to publish it on the NHS Scotland Assure RAAC webpage in due course. This will give an overall picture of how NHS Scotland has and will approach RAAC whilst it is still present in NHS Scotland buildings. This will be accompanied by a formal NHS Scotland Assure technical guidance document which will provide detailed information on how to manage RAAC now and in years to come.

The next phase of the survey programme will provide a detailed structural inspection of all buildings identified with RAAC. This phase is commencing with three pilot surveys which are designed to inform the full implementation of this phase of detailed surveys across all NHS Scotland Buildings with RAAC. It will take several months to conclude this phase.

Upon completion of each of these detailed surveys, all NHS Boards will have a clear picture of the overall condition and any additional monitoring and or remedial work required. Each NHS Board is responsible for managing and remediating any RAAC issues that may be identified. It is expected that some works will be required to be undertaken based on the findings of the detailed phase of surveys.

Police Scotland

In April 2023, Police Scotland undertook roof refurbishment works at the Fleet Workshop at Fettes. Structural engineers identified a high number of RAAC planks at risk of potential malfunction/collapse.

Subsequently, Police Scotland undertook a four stage approach to assess the extent of the issue across the police estate, focusing on (1) appointment of a specialist building surveyor to urgently identify sites across the police estate which may potentially contain RAAC, (2) assessing the risk profile across these identified sites, (3) visual inspection and reports on each affected building by a specialist structural engineer and (4) costing for remedial work to address any high priority risks associated with these buildings.

In reviewing the entire estate (over 300 buildings) including by structural engineers as required, RAAC has been discovered at four sites – Fettes in Edinburgh, Perth, Baluniefield in Dundee and Haddington in East Lothian.

Police Scotland discussed its RAAC situation in a public session of the SPA Resources Committee on 9 May 2023.

In addition, RAAC was also discussed at a public session of the Criminal Justice Committee on 13 September 2023.

In respect of the implications of the presence of RAAC, at Fettes there have been operational impacts on a number of units as well as the delivery of training and operational events. Police Scotland’s recovery approach has resulted in the Fleet Unit exiting Fettes and working from their business continuity model. The remaining teams have been able to remain on site with facilities provided to stabilise their operating model.

Longer-term, with the cost of repairing the RAAC present in Fettes in the region of £4m, Police Scotland do not consider it is economically viable to invest in a repair programme on this site. Enhanced benefits to police services and the community can be achieved through colocations. Police Scotland will focus on developing co-location opportunities with partners as part of the Police Scotland Estates Strategy.

In Baluniefield RAAC has resulted in limited relocation with a regular monitoring process now in place for the building. The recovery activities concluded on 2 August 2023. The site has been equipped with emergency pillars and safety nets, estimated cost of repairs around £1.25m.

In Perth the only impact concerns the station’s boiler room, with an access control and monitoring procedure now in place.

Following the initial review, in May 2024, a further inspection by structural engineers has identified the presence of RAAC in an outbuilding at Haddington Police Station. The affected area has been closed and Police Scotland are currently obtaining costs to remediate the area.

Police Scotland have launched a consultation on buildings proposed for closure across their estate, including individual consultations on 29 Police Stations. The individual consultation on Fettes is not yet live but will be added to the Police Scotland Engagement Hub in due course. 

Scottish Prison Service (SPS)

Awareness checks across the SPS estate were undertaken by local estates teams in May 2023.

The Discovery Stage was completed via desk top study and follow up on-site visual examination of any areas of doubt. SPS have only identified, and verified through a Structural Engineer’s Assessment, the presence of RAAC at one establishment (HMP Glenochil). The areas identified are a single storey area and a building with limited access requirements.

The initial Structural Engineer’s report recommended temporary propping, which has been put in place within a corridor, and there is ongoing monitoring at both buildings. Phase 1 remedial works to put in permanent measures are under way and due to complete mid-September. The Structural Engineer’s Report with recommendations for the remaining works (Phase 2) has just been received and is currently being reviewed.

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS)

SCTS has one court building which contains RAAC – Airdrie Sheriff Court.  As such, the impact on the overall delivery of court and tribunal services has been minimal and restricted to court users in the geographical area serviced by the court.

Airdrie Sheriff Court is a five court complex. Following the discovery of RAAC a range of contingency measures were introduced, redistributing court business to other courts across the SCTS estate, with staff working in a hybrid manner from home and other courts to maintain operational business. 

At the peak of its discovery (November 2023) four of the five courtrooms were closed. Incremental remediation commenced from January 2024. A significant amount of the work was undertaken out of hours so as not to interrupt court business with noise.

General public access to the court building resumed on 18 March 2024 (this had been restricted to minimise footfall during early works).  All court business routinely scheduled for Airdrie has now returned to the building, with all five courtrooms remediated and operational as of late August 2024.

The first floor staff area (approximately 1/3 of the total building floor area) remains closed. This has been made safe with propping and is being regularly monitored by structural engineers and the SCTS facilities management team.  Plans are being developed to remediate the first floor area in order to allow staff to fully re-occupy the building, although these will be subject to affordability. Staff have been relocated to modular accommodation in the car park.

The facility to pay fines in person at the court has not yet been restarted. Alternative arrangements, including the facility to pay by phone or online are in place. Car parking has been restricted due to reduced space although disabled car parking remains available upon request.

RAAC management plans are in place to undertake six monthly inspections.

Further information can be found here: Airdrie Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS)

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) first discovered RAAC in 2019 and a full investigation had been completed by 2020. SFRS carried out an investigation of all 357 fire stations across Scotland and RAAC was identified as having been used in 14 (or 4% of the total) stations.

All of the RAAC roofs are subject to regular monitoring and this has shown a deterioration in condition of the concrete over the last two years. The 14 fire stations with RAAC all have mitigation measures in place and all remain fully operational. Mitigation measures consist of steel props to support the roofs and scaffolding crash decks to catch any debris which might fall if the roofs fail in any way.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has a refurbishment plan in place but the many competing demands on SFRS Capital budgets mean it could be a number of years before all RAAC impacted fire stations can be refurbished. SFRS plans to consult on options for its service delivery model later in 2024, and this may impact or inform refurbishment plans, with the prospect of working with partner agencies to explore potential shared services in the locations of the 14 affected stations being explored.

Social housing

Prior to 31 August 2023, while there had been no formal engagement with individual social landlords on the issue of RAAC, a number of landlords were already alive to the issue of RAAC in their housing stock and were undertaking investigations.

The first formal engagement with landlords across the social housing sector was when the Scottish Housing Regulator, as part of their contributions to the RAAC Cross Sector Working Group, wrote to all landlords regarding RAAC. This letter, sent on 13 October 2023, requested that all landlords return data on the number of homes they had identified as containing RAAC, and the number of homes that were under investigation.

SHR published their findings from this initial data collection on 11 December 2023. This was followed by a further update on RAAC in social housing, published on 28 March 2024.

Where landlords have identified RAAC, this is included as a topic within the SHR annual engagement plans for these landlords. This has given the Scottish Government a comprehensive picture of the extent of RAAC across Scotland’s social housing stock and given assurance that all social landlords are taking appropriate steps to manage its presence.

A small number of landlords continue to investigate a small number of homes and the Regulator continues to receive regular updates on this progress. All investigations in the sector are expected to be completed by September 2024 at the latest.

Information on the data collection exercise as well as engagement plans can be found on the website of the Scottish Housing Regulator. As per the Regulator’s last data release in March 2024, 13 landlords had identified a total of 1,994 properties containing RAAC across the Scottish social housing sector. Updated figures are expected to be published by the SHR at the conclusion of the investigation and data collection exercise in September.

More generally, intelligence gathering, undertaken as part of the RAAC Cross Sector Working Group, has indicated that RAAC has not been used extensively as a building material in private sector house building in Scotland. However, as social housing providers have investigated the presence of RAAC in the housing stock that they own, it has become apparent that some homes containing RAAC have passed into private ownership through Right to Buy transactions.

The issue of RAAC is primarily a building maintenance issue. Home owners are responsible for maintenance costs in their own homes and for their share of work on any common elements of a shared building. This will include any work required to repair unsafe RAAC. Where homes have been sold under Right to Buy legislation, local authority responsibility for property maintenance and the associated costs has transferred to the private owners.

Local authorities have broad powers to support homeowners to ensure that their home is safe and meets minimum standards. Each local authority is required to have in place a Scheme of Assistance which sets out the support they will offer private owners. Although the amount of financial assistance that can be provided to private owners is limited, the support available may also take the form of advice, guidance and information on potential sources of funding.

Where homeowners are notified that their home may contain RAAC, we expect their local authority to provide advice on the next steps they should take, including how to find a suitably qualified surveyor and what support may be available. Ultimately it will be for the local authority to determine what support is available for homeowners who need to make repairs to their homes, taking into account local circumstances and priorities.

Wider local authority estate

Separate to the information gathering exercise specific to local authority school estates in the course of October 2023, co-ordinated through the SHoPS network information was also requested in terms of wider local authority (non school and non social housing) estate interests.

Details were requested for each local authority on the number of buildings considered within scope of the exercise, progress made with desktop and visual assessments and, where appropriate, information on surveys.

With regard to those local authorities where RAAC has been identified in the non school/non housing estate, assurance has been sought that appropriate mitigations are in place, as determined by the particular circumstances of the property. These have ranged from monitoring regimes, short term mitigations such as roof propping, to the closure of buildings where RAAC has been found to be in poor condition.

Engagement both through the SHoPS network as well as directly with local authorities is ongoing with the focus now on longer-term remediation and RAAC management planning and assurance that, as required, appropriate measures are in place.

As with RAAC in the school estate, further information on affected buildings can be found on individual local authority websites.

Public bodies

With regard to public bodies not included in sector specific engagement programmes, the Scottish Government wrote to all Public Body Chief Executives in September 2023 to ensure awareness of the situation regarding RAAC.

The letter emphasised the seriousness with which the Scottish Government took the issue while emphasising the statutory responsibility of public bodies to manage and maintain their estate. It continued by noting the engagement and information sharing processes underway, including through the RAAC Cross Sector Working Group and directing to sources of information and advice such as that provided through the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Construction Professional Services Framework as well as from the Institution of Structural Engineers.

Encouragement was also given to public bodies to communicate with their building users about the approach being taken. For those leasing buildings, public bodies were encouraged to check leases to ascertain legal responsibilities and, as required, to contact landlords to ensure required checks were carried out timeously. Information was also requested from public bodies insofar as any survey work had been considered necessary.

Subsequent to initial engagement, a number of further communications have been made. The Scottish Government is assured that public bodies owning buildings have undertaken (or are in the process of completing) assessments for RAAC, including surveys where necessary.

To date, other than those sectors referred to elsewhere in this report, such as in education, health, social housing etc, RAAC has been identified in buildings owned by Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Water. The one – unoccupied – building owned by Scottish Enterprise is scheduled for demolition. Appropriate mitigation measures are in place at affected Scottish Water buildings with surveys and longer-term planning ongoing.

The Scottish Government plans to further engage with all public bodies to reiterate key messaging regarding RAAC as guidance, advice and sources of information continue to evolve.