Committee
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee 25 February 2026 [Draft]
25 Feb 2026 · S6 · Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Continued Petitions
RAAC-affected Communities (PE2113)
PE2113, which was lodged by Wilson and Hannah Chowdhry, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to provide support to communities affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete—commonly referred to as RAAC—by: setting up a national fund to assist struggling homeowners and tenants affected by RAAC; initiating a public inquiry to investigate the practices of councils and housing associations concerning RAAC, including investigation of how business related to RAAC was conducted, the handling of safety reports and property sales, disclosure of RAAC, and responses to homeowner concerns; and introducing or updating legislation, similar to the general product safety regulations, to ensure that developers, councils and housing associations are held accountable for using substandard property materials, to mandate risk disclosure and to make surveyors and solicitors liable for untraced defects. Legislation should also include provision for a comprehensive register of high-risk buildings in Scotland.We last considered the petition on 24 September 2025 and at that time we agreed to write to the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Cabinet Secretary for Housing. The position expressed by the Secretary of State for Scotland is that RAAC issues in Scotland are a devolved matter and that the problem should be tackled by using the overall funding settlement received by the Scottish Government.The Cabinet Secretary for Housing indicates that the Scottish Government has repeatedly engaged with the UK Government to stress the need for UK Government-led financial arrangements for RAAC remediation on a cross-UK basis but that such calls have so far been unsuccessful—as appears to be the case given the Secretary of State for Scotland’s response. However, the Scottish Government’s position continues to be that it is a UK Government responsibility, as many of the properties were sold under UK right-to-buy legislation and the solution engages with several reserved issues, including insurance, tax and consumer protection. Additionally, the Scottish Government argues that only the UK Government has sufficient financial flexibility to meet the costs of RAAC remediation.The cabinet secretary points to a number of initiatives and actions to engage with local authorities and communities on the issue and to monitor local authorities’ own engagement and interaction with affected residents. The Scottish Government also asked for guidance to be produced in relation to the presence of RAAC in roof construction in residential properties. Last month, the Institution of Structural Engineers published updated guidance, which aims to support the appraisal, assessment and remediation of RAAC roofs in Scottish residential properties.In providing evidence to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, the cabinet secretary explained that the Scottish Government agreed to a request made by Aberdeen City Council to repurpose some of its unspent funds, available through the housing infrastructure fund, to support RAAC remediation. The cabinet secretary stressed that that was neither a Government offer nor additional Government money, but she expressed the Government’s openness to consider similar proposals from other local authorities.Finally, members will recall that organisations such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and the Built Environment Forum Scotland have previously suggested that they were not supportive of a public inquiry. They argued that it would be time and resource intensive, would divert from an immediate response and might simply confirm what, in fact, is already widely known. Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?10:15
In the same item of business
The Convener
Con
PE2113, which was lodged by Wilson and Hannah Chowdhry, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to provide support to communities af...
David Torrance
SNP
:In the light of the evidence that we have received, I do not think that we can take the petition any further, so I suggest that we close it under rule 15.7 ...
The Convener
Con
Are colleagues content to close the petition on that basis?Members indicated agreement.
The Convener
Con
Although the petition deals with issues of substance for those who are affected by RAAC, unfortunately, for the reasons that Mr Torrance has set out, we are ...