Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with (a) libraries and (b) local councils on the potential presence of reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC) in their library buildings.

The Standing Committee on Structural Safety issued a safety alert on the failure of RAAC planks on 1 May 2019.

Individual building owners and managers are responsible for health and safety, including responding to safety alerts such as this. Local authorities, like other building owners, are advised to follow available professional guidance.

As buildings are identified as having suspected or confirmed instances of RAAC, building owners and managers should follow the guidance to put appropriate mitigation in place.

The delivery of public library services, including the maintenance of the buildings through which that is done, is a responsibility for upper-tier local authorities under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has advised members to check whether any buildings in their estates have RAAC, to ensure it can be identified, assessed, and responded to accordingly. This is accessible on the LGA website and in line with the guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. If further buildings are identified as having suspected or confirmed RAAC, building owners and managers should follow the guidance to put appropriate mitigation in place.