SNP urged to act over £775m colleges repair bill as classes taught in 'crumbling' rooms

SNP ministers have been urged to finally step in and help Scotland’s colleges deal with a £775 million repair backlog that has meant classes are often being taught in buildings that are “crumbling” around them.

Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie wrote to Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth after The Scotsman highlighted the “extreme concerns” of bosses in the further educations sector.

UHI Moray

In a submission to the Government, umbrella body Colleges Scotland highlighted an ongoing battle to keep some buildings “wind and watertight”, with many badly in need of maintenance or total replacement.

The problems have been made worse for seven of the nation’s 24 colleges, which have been found to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), a collapse-prone construction material.

UHI Moray revealed that it expects to completely close a wing of its building this winter amid concerns about the impact of snow and rain on its Raac roof.

Borders College faces a bill of about £4.5m to remove Raac from Galashiels Campus. West College Scotland has seen the book value of its building plummet from £1.8m to zero as a result of Raac.

Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell - Pool/Getty Images | Getty Images

In his letter, Mr Rennie said: “I am writing to highlight concerns over the state of the repair backlog to Scotland's colleges and the impact that the dangerous concrete Raac is having on college budgets.

“In an article published in The Scotsman last week, college leaders warned of ‘extreme concerns’ about the impact of an escalating £775m repair backlog that is being exacerbated by the discovery of dangerous crumbling concrete at several sites.”

Mr Rennie added: “Budgets for colleges have faced successive rounds of cuts and the result is classes learning in buildings that are crumbling around them.

“I am concerned that this is short-sighted because colleges are well placed to provide the workers that sectors such as our renewables industry and the care sector need.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have warned of the risks posed by Raac for well over a year. We need a national fund to remove Raac from our public buildings, but to date I don't think the Scottish Government has set aside a single penny for this purpose.

“It’s not sustainable to leave this up to cash-strapped councils, health boards and colleges to pick up the tab.”

The fresh concerns about colleges emerged just days after it was announced that East Lothian Council could demolish the huge Brunton Hall theatre and office building in Musselburgh, following the discovery of Raac, which was often used in public buildings between the 1950s and 1990s.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government takes Raac seriously and we have established regular meetings to ensure that best practice is shared across both public and private sector bodies impacted by Raac.

“The Scottish Government is kept regularly updated by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) on efforts to gather information on the scale of the problem in the college sector and the SFC intends to conclude work on the first phase of a College Infrastructure Investment Plan early in 2025, which will explore solutions to wider concerns around the college estate.”