Committee
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee 03 October 2023
03 Oct 2023 · S6 · Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Item of business
Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
Martin Liddell
Watch on SPTV
To pick up on the subject of what has been going on, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety report was issued in 2009 following the failure of a panel in a school. That raised general awareness and was how I got to hear about it. We have been doing some low-level slow research or studying with the BRE on RAAC at two hospitals work for about 10 years from about 2009. When the SCOSS report was issued in 2009, the Institution of Structural Engineers put together a study panel, which I have chaired since then. The NHS in England picked up the baton, largely because it has quite a lot of hospitals that are built entirely of RAAC and a lot of investigations and research was done on the back of that. That led to the instigation of the major research project by Loughborough University that has now been going on for two or three years. During the intervening period, the Institution of Structural Engineers and the panel that I lead issued two updates. One was issued at the beginning of last year to raise awareness in the engineering profession of some of the findings that were coming to light during the investigations into the hospitals that were being looked at. We then issued a second paper in April this year that was intended to extend the ability of engineers to assess the condition to RAAC and go beyond the small pool of people who had hands-on experience of RAAC. The processes to identify the hazards and risks around RAAC have been set out so that any competent—I use that word advisedly—engineer can pick up on a RAAC situation, assess it and come up with a red, amber or green rated classification that will, I hope, have some form of uniformity across the country.
In the same item of business
The Convener
Green
Agenda item 2 is to take evidence from two panels on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, which is otherwise known as RAAC. The first panel will be in ro...
Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
SNP
I am the MSP for the constituency of Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.
David Baird (West Lothian Council)
I am the property services manager for West Lothian Council.
Marie McNair (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP)
SNP
I represent the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency.
Paul Jones (City of Edinburgh Council)
I am the strategic asset improvement manager for the City of Edinburgh Council.
Peter Watton (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers)
I am the service director for sustainable development at the City of Edinburgh Council, but I am here on behalf of SOLACE.
Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Con)
Con
I am a Conservative MSP for Lothian region.
Ailsa Macfarlane (Built Environment Forum Scotland)
I am the director of Built Environment Forum Scotland.
Iain Morris (Scottish Fire and Rescue Service)
I am the acting director of asset management for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Peter Drummond (Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland)
I am a practising architect and I am representing the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.
Ivan McKee (Glasgow Provan) (SNP)
SNP
I am the Scottish National Party MSP for Glasgow Provan.
Stephen Booth (Aberdeen City Council)
I am the chief officer of corporate landlord at Aberdeen City Council.
Professor Chris Goodier (Loughborough University)
I am a professor of construction engineering and materials at Loughborough University. I have been leading research into RAAC for the past two years.
Martin Liddell (Institution of Structural Engineers)
I am a regional director at Sweco UK and I am here because I am chair of the RAAC study group for the Institution of Structural Engineers.
Paul Livesey (Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures UK)
I am a chartered structural engineer and the manager of Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures UK—CROSS-UK, which issued the industry-wide safety alert...
Sam Piplica (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors)
I am a chartered building surveyor by trade and am now at RICS looking after professional practice and developing guidance and standards for our chartered bu...
The Convener
Green
Thanks very much. We turn to questions from members. Usually, a member will direct their question to somebody in the room or online, initially. If you want t...
Professor Goodier
First, the idea that RAAC has a limited lifespan is a bit of an urban myth. In the media, it is said that it has a 30-year lifespan and the impression is giv...
Peter Drummond
I hesitate to clarify that answer but, although the 1986 BRE paper did, indeed, come back with relatively relaxed results, is it not the case that the 2002 B...
Professor Goodier
Yes, I agree. However, every building that was built 30, 40 or 50 years ago is showing signs of wear and tear and should be surveyed and looked after appropr...
Martin Liddell
To pick up on the subject of what has been going on, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety report was issued in 2009 following the failure of a panel i...
Paul Livesey
Although the BRE report from 1996 suggested that the planks that it tested were safe, it also suggested that RAAC planks should be located and inspected regu...
The Convener
Green
Thank you. I will bring in Ivan McKee.
Ivan McKee
SNP
Thank you, convener. I am interested to understand the extent to which RAAC is significantly different from other building materials. Our briefing says th...
Professor Goodier
I will start on the material, and then pass over to Martin Liddell to talk about how it impacts on structural design, which is a different field. The name “...
Martin Liddell
The low-strength nature of the material means that it behaves very differently, in two ways. The first is to do with the way that the reinforcement gets anch...
Ivan McKee
SNP
It does. Does anyone else wants to comment?
The Convener
Green
I see that Paul Livesey wants to come in online, and then we will come to others in the room.
Paul Livesey
As Professor Goodier said, some planks are absolutely fine. However, what we have here is a perfect storm of contributory factors for a number of planks. As ...
Ivan McKee
SNP
If I am hearing you correctly, the catastrophic nature of the failure is at least as significant an issue as the fact that the stuff can fail—as we know, mos...