Firefighters face risks as government fails to deliver RAAC register

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today urged the Scottish Government to compile a complete list of buildings where the dangerous bubbly concrete known as RAAC is present, as a minister conceded that the presence of the material could present safety implications for firefighters responding to incidents.

In response to a parliamentary question from Mr Cole-Hamilton, community safety minister Siobhian Brown admitting that “Where the material is in poor condition there could be greater risk of weakness or collapse”.

It follows the news that the Scottish Government intends to leave the dangerous concrete in place in 35 NHS buildings and that it has no deadline or target for removing RAAC in NHS buildings. This contrasts with the situation in England, which currently has a target to eradicate the dangerous building material from the NHS estate by 2035.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“This dangerous concrete is an additional hazard that firefighters will have to consider when responding to an incident.

“The minister admits that this material raises the risk of collapse so why is her government not pressing ahead with a full national register of buildings where this material is in place?

“Ministers need to get their heads out of the clouds and finally establish a fund that NHS boards and local authorities can tap into, allowing them to carry out the necessary works to get rid of this dodgy concrete for good.

“They also need to ensure that private property owners are investigating whether this material is present and ensuring that there is an up-to-date register of its location and its condition. It is not good enough to leave this to an already overstretched fire service.”