Yousaf to review school building plan 'through Raac lens'

He also pledged to publish a full list of the schools impacted by the end of the week as well as the measures being carried out.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar warned the issue was “causing understandable anxiety for parents, pupils and staff”.

Read more: Humza Yousaf admits concrete investigations will take 'some months'

He asked Mr Yousaf “when the Government first became aware of the issue and what steps it took”, and called on him to “commit to publishing the list of the schools impacted so parents and pupils have at least some of the answers they deserve”.

In response, the First Minister said: “We were informed about Raac, not just for many months but for years.”

He added that the Scottish Government has “ensured that our education leaders had the appropriate guidance” and stressed ministers have been “proactive in our discussions with local authorities” to ensure a “full understanding of the picture”.

Mr Yousaf said: “I can confirm that given we have further information back from loc authorities, 40 schools have been identified that have Raac in them.

“The appropriate mitigations have been put in place.

Read more: SNP Government told of concrete 'collapse' risks last summer

“We will work with local authorities to make sure that information is published.”

Urgent work is underway following the discovery of the concrete at St Kentigern’s Academy in Blackburn, West Lothian, with part of the estate including the kitchen and dining area closed, while Preston Lodge High School in East Lothian has closed impacted classrooms.

The First Minister highlighted that “some local authorities wanting discussions around funding” for repair works, adding that those talks will continue.

The Labour leader criticised the Scottish Government for having “ delayed the next phase of their school rebuilding programme”, claiming that “at least five of the schools on that list contain Raac”.

Read more: FMQs Recap: Humza Yousaf faces MSPs at question time

Mr Sarwar said that Raac schools in need of renovation works “must be dealt with urgently”.

But Mr Yousaf insisted that the Scottish Government “does have a good record when it comes to building schools”.

He pointed to a recently-published audit of Scotland’s schools estate which he said shows “91% of schools had a good or satisfactory condition”.

The FM said this has “significantly improved from when we first took office”.

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Image: PA)

Social Justice Sectary Shirley-Anne Sommerville insisted that "safety is the central consideration".

She said: “The Scottish Government and the wider public sector has already done much to understand the extent of Raac issues in Scotland, and we recognise there is more to do. Everyone with the responsibility for building safety takes this matter very seriously.

“Local authorities have a clear responsibility to ensure their schools are safe for pupils, staff and all their users.  They are carrying out assessments of all their school buildings."

Ms Somerville added: “We are aware that some parts of the school estate in some councils still need to complete full surveys. Ministers have been clear to authorities that these must be carried out as a matter of highest priority.

“Safety is the central consideration and there is robust guidance which is followed by every local authority to ensure these buildings are safe for the pupils, staff and the public to be in.”

Scottish Conservative MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “Parents and teachers will understandably be deeply concerned about this issue and we need to see full transparency from the SNP in relation to dangerous concrete.

“The publication of this information is welcome as it is clear that the impact will stretch well beyond schools and include the NHS estate, GP surgeries, colleges and potentially council housing built during the last 40 years.

“However, it is not clear from this statement what position the SNP Gvernment is taking or what policy and guidance will be issued to councils."

He added: “SNP ministers been aware of the issue of dangerous concrete for a while, so spending decisions on these schools should have been a top priority for ministers.

“Instead, pupils, teachers and school staff could be at risk as a result of the SNP’s failure to address this problem.

“SNP ministers cannot keep passing the buck or shifting blame on Ra and must urgently confirm a timetable to tackle the problem so this dangerous material will be removed from schools – and other public buildings – as soon as possible.”