Fears over concrete panels linked to safety risks in homes

While not every LPS block is unsafe, experts warn the design is more vulnerable to defects unless reinforced or remediated, raising fresh concerns over residents’ safety.

They say that gas blasts, vehicle impacts or even very strong winds can threaten their integrity.

Housing campaign groups have called for a national investigation.

The Scottish Government confirmed there are no legal requirements to carry out regular structural surveys of buildings, saying that safety is a "matter for the building owners" and ministers "expect them to be proactive" in addressing any concerns where LPS exists.

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Peter Drummond, a trustee of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland who works on building safety, said that LPS issues should be covered by a remediation fund set up to deal with other housing defects.

He said: "There needs to be more proactive monitoring.  There is a need for the Scottish Government to be sure that landlords are dealing with this."

Discussions of the Scottish Government's ministerial Building and Fire Safety Working Group, established in 2017 to oversee building and fire safety matters, reflect campaigners' fears that the extent of the problem has not been fully grasped.

An official briefing of a June meeting of the ministerial Building and Fire Safety Working Group said there was an opportunity to bring members of a new cross-sector forum "up to date ... on the management of older LPS stock which may not have been remediated or may not have records of action to both mitigate the risks identified in pre-1970 buildings and also the more general topic of inspection and preventative maintenance".

It was also a chance to discuss what is happening with LPS over "gas supply as a risk factor and how this is being addressed..."

Video: The tower block disaster at Ronan Point in east London first raised questions over LPS safety

The working group, headed by social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, was notified of issues arising in two LPS buildings in Glasgow late last year following a gas supply issue. 

The group was told that in the absence of evidence that the building was suitable for a gas supply, it was disconnected.

The group was also told that the presence of LPS is among matters that has to be reported in the building safety case required for all registered high-rise residential buildings in England.

While the Building Safety Regulator has overseen new rules for the occupation of high-rise residential buildings and has already flagged issues with higher-risk LPS buildings of at least seven storeys from last year that require a safety certificate.

The Institution of Structural Engineers says that under new legislation owners of higher-risk buildings in England, including all tower blocks, must apply for a safety certificate from the regulator.

The Scottish Government confirmed there is no requirement for a safety certificate for high rise buildings in relation to LPS in Scotland.

And it says it holds no record of any refurbishments or remedial actions in response to concerns over LPS but was aware of works having been undertaken to strengthen buildings, remove gas supplies or in some cases demolish buildings.

The Herald has discovered that the latest high rise inventory undertaken in 2021, carried out by the Scottish Government, shows that just over 230 multi-storey blocks have been constructed using LPS, with the vast majority completed in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

There are concerns the numbers could be even greater as it was admitted there were "challenges" in delivering a complete picture.

Nearly half of the tower blocks are in Glasgow, while there a further 36 in Aberdeen and 22 in North Lanarkshire.

Of those, 59 had a mains gas supply. A further 22 were missing any mains gas information.

And that puts them into a higher risk category.

The Scottish Tenants Organisation campaign co-ordinator Sean Clerkin said there was an "urgent need" for a national investigation over the safety of all LPS high rise blocks in Scotland, believing that the problems of LPS tower blocks have not been grasped.

The STO said: "The life safety of tenants and residents in Scotland should be the priority over financial costs of remediation or demolition as the precautionary principle has to be applied at all times with the Scottish Government coordinating such a national investigation."

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Chairman of national tenants' rights campaign group Living Rent Barbara Welsh, said that the Scottish Government was "burying its head in the sand and completely neglecting the responsibility it has to ensure that people are able to live in safe and secure homes".

The group added: "People’s lives are at risk. To leave inspections and remediation as a 'matter for the building owners' is unbelievably irresponsible."

Ministers are already under fire as repairs on 'dangerous' cladding have reached a "scandalous" standstill with just 11% of a special safety fund spent so far – eight years after the Grenfell tragedy.

Up to 1500 tower blocks across Scotland may need repairs, but as of June two have been made safe while funds committed have gone unspent.

The LPS building method, once heavily backed by government, used factory-made concrete slabs that were bolted and mortared together on site.

It was quick and inexpensive, helping ministers hit housing targets. But experts say that with no supporting frame, each slab carried the load, leaving towers vulnerable to collapse if a single joint failed.

Concerns over LPS had their origins with the partial collapse of a block of flats at Ronan Point in east London in 1968, in which four people died. It was due to a piped gas explosion on the building’s 18th floor which the building’s structure did not withstand.

The same year, the UK government advised councils that such LPS constructed buildings should be strengthened and external gas systems should be removed, as the structures were vulnerable to collapse if there was ever an explosion.

Concerns over the risks intensified after the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster and under the Building Safety Act 2022, tower block owners must register their buildings with the regulator and say if the block is made with LPS panels, was built between 1956 and 1973 and whether a gas supply is installed. Certification is also required where it was unclear if reinforcement work had been carried out.

Flashback to the Grenfell Tower blaze (Image: PA Wire/PA Images) But the Act only applies to England and Wales.

There have been continuing problems on many different English council estates, leading to residents being moved out and buildings demolished.

In 2017 engineers were called to the Ledbury estate in Peckham, south-east London, to investigate three centimetre-wide cracks between the panels that were opening and closing depending on the weather. In 2022, demolition and rebuilding was approved by Southwark council.

The Building Safety Regulator for England has identified over 200 LPS blocks as of March within a higher-risk building group that had no record of post-Ronan Point strengthening work and which require a safety certificate from them.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations chief executive, Sally Thomas, said: “The welfare of tenants is the priority of every housing association across the country and they also comply with stringent legislation on building safety...

"This means that whenever and wherever concerns are raised about building safety, these are taken extremely seriously and prompt action initiated to inspect and assess the problem.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the key sectors to improve building safety across Scotland. A dedicated Scottish Government led Building Safety Forum will take place later this month, bringing together professionals from design, construction and building standards to share knowledge and best practice. We will continue to engage with administrations throughout the UK on building safety.

“Building owners can follow the extensive guidance on Large Panel System concrete, which has been available for a number of years, to investigate and if necessary address issues of remediation.”