Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in residential buildings on (a) homeowners and (b) tenants.

The issues with RAAC are longstanding and well known. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) estimate the prevalence in housing and the risk of injuries due to RAAC are low relative to other risks in the built environment.

All building owners are responsible for managing building safety and performance risks in their buildings. Guidance has been published by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) on managing the risks of RAAC.

Ministers and Officials in my department and across Government engage regularly with representatives from the insurance and lending industries on issues affecting these markets, including those related to building safety.

Both, building safety and local government finance are devolved. The Scottish Government are receiving at least 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK. Where remediation or maintenance works are required for RAAC or any other issues, local authorities should do so within existing budgets.

Although building safety and local government finance are devolved, I and my officials continue to engage with our Scottish Government counterparts on this and other important building safety and performance issues.