Holyrood urged to hand back £53m West Lothian has spent to fix crumbling concrete

dailyrecord.co.uk:

West Lothian Council is to ask Holyrood for the £53m it has spent tackling RAAC problems in its schools and community centres.A meeting of the full council also voted to lobby the Scottish Government for the creation of a national fund to help councils through the crisis.And Labour branded the Holyrood response to the problem of crumbling concrete roof planks as “RAAC and ruin.”In response, the SNP group argued that Westminster should pay as the problem pre-dated devolution - and said that the Scottish Government did not have the money that would be needed to meet a Scotland wide repair bill.Councillors backed a motion calling for “the Scottish Government to act to help councils meet unavoidable costs associated with RAAC.”Calling for a national fund, Lawrence Fitzpatrick, the council and Labour group leader, said: “We are all aware of the difficulties we have had.

There is an outstanding await for a £24m request for the replacement school for Riverside Primary. This has been waiting for the rubber stamp since December.“The Scottish Government has issued no guidance to education authorities in Scotland.

We are having to get a further report on St Kent’s Academy. We have been at the very front of dealing with this issue.“The First Minister is requested to confirm that if any Barnett Consequentials [UK funding] for RAAC pass to the Scottish Government that must be wholly applied to RAAC.The safety of our children is a priority.”Lib Dem councillor Sally Pattle, who first called for a national fund in June, told the meeting: “West Lothian’s proactive approach means that we are at the vanguard of this.