'Stop passing the buck and help Aberdeen Raac families'
A campaigner fighting for Aberdonians caught up in the Raac housing crisis is pleading with politicians to stop passing the buck over responsibility days before another UK spending review.
Torry Raac campaign supporter Raymond Davidson reacted to the blame-game between political leaders in the week the UK Chancellor is under more pressure from the Scottish Government to find funds at Westminster.
In the run up to the spending review on Wednesday, SNP and Labour leaders again kept the row going in a series of letters and statements shared with the P&J.
Meanwhile in Aberdeen, Balnagask homeowners are trying to convince the city council it already has the money to meet everyone's needs.
Mr Davidson said the constant back-and-forth between London and Edinburgh is a distraction.
'It's like a game of pass the parcel to them,' he said.
'No one wants the music to stop and take responsibility, it just keeps going round and round.
'It's as though people don't matter in this. Politicians are playing party-political games.'
One of the big problems is what happens to homeowners who bought properties with Raac which is now posing a risk.
The council has a 'voluntary acquisition proposal' which would cost more than £12 million to take the homes and demolish them.
For those who want to stay, a massive repair bill would fall to them personally.
The share could be between £20,000 and £44,000 depending on the size of property.
'Why can't the council provide the lot?' asked Mr Davidson.
'They can spend now whatever Holyrood and Westminster are saying.
'If there's extra money down the line, fine. But that shouldn't stop them now.'
A proposal from residents would see people relocated to a cluster of homes which would then be repaired at what campaigners say is a reduced cost to the taxpayer.
Councillor Allard, the SNP co-leader in Aberdeen, said the local authority is already getting on with helping Raac residents – but is under no obligation to fully fund private owners.
'By law we don't need to give them anything,' he said.
'Morally, we are helping.'
The full cost, regardless of what happens, should involve government help, he added.
'I don't understand why the UK Government will not pay more. It should be like the Grenfell cladding crisis and a UK-wide issue.'
In the UK's Scotland Office, Labour MP Ian Murray agreed the council's voluntary purchase scheme must give homeowners 'fair compensation.'
But in a letter copied to residents and the P&J, he wrote: 'While I have the utmost sympathy with what you and your neighbours are going through, our powers are limited, given this is an issue devolved to the Scottish Government, which received a record £50bn funding settlement at the Autumn Budget.
'Some of that could – and I believe should – be used to tackle this problem.'
Meanwhile, the housing minister in the UK Government said Raac is 'low' in English housing so there will be no additional extra government scheme.
This is crucial because if Westminster does spend extra on English housing on Wednesday, it would generate a compensating figure for use in Scotland.
In a letter to his Scottish counterpart, Mr Norris said building safety and local government finance are Holyrood's responsibility.
'Any decisions on funding to support building owners to manage Raac are for the Scottish Government and impacted local authorities,' he wrote.
The P&J put the UK Government position to the SNP Government.
Scottish housing minister Paul McLennan said: 'Raac is a cross-UK problem, and we have been clear from the beginning that it requires a cross-UK solution.
'We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to make available a dedicated Raac remediation fund, which they have unfortunately failed to do.
'We are continuing to call on them to take action – and at next week's spending review the Chancellor has the opportunity to take action to support people affected by Raac, including those in Aberdeen. We will keep up the pressure on the UK Government on behalf of homeowners in Aberdeen and across Scotland.'
The P&J asked a spokesman for the prime minister in the Commons last week if any money can be expected on Wednesday. But the spokesman would not disclose any details ahead of the statement.
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