UK: RAAC Homeowners Face Bankruptcy While Scotland Funds Africa. As a UK citizen of ethnic origin, I understand the importance of building a fair and balanced world. Foreign aid — whether financial, humanitarian, or developmental — exists to help people overcome poverty, disasters, and conflict, and to strengthen global security and economic ties. These are noble goals. But fairness and responsibility also begin at home. In Scotland today, thousands of RAAC homeowners are facing bankruptcy, homelessness, and unimaginable stress through no fault of their own, left to shoulder the costs of government and council failures while ministers focus on grandstanding abroad. 

In a recent session of the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Mairi McAllan MSP, confirmed that there will be no dedicated Scottish Government fund to support councils or homeowners affected by RAAC. Despite months of lobbying, residents were told bluntly that RAAC is “a building standards issue” and “a homeowners’ matter.” This denial of assistance leaves families to shoulder the full cost of remediation, demolition, or rehousing while continuing to pay mortgages on uninhabitable homes. 

This is more than a financial crisis — it is a crisis of fairness and accountability. Many homeowners acquired their properties under the Right to Buy scheme, unaware that the roofs and walls were built with defective RAAC. Councils and housing associations, knowing the material’s vulnerabilities, failed to warn residents. Now, Scottish homeowners are being treated as if they live under a feudal system, expected to absorb the cost of what is clearly a systemic construction and regulatory failure. 

Homes Collapse as Ministers Prioritize Overseas Spending 

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government continues to spend increasesd public money abroad. John Swinney, Scotland’s First Minister, recently toured Zambia and Malawi to promote foreign aid and gender equality, touting Scotland’s role as a “good global citizen.” Yet at home, the government refuses to create a national RAAC fund, leaving residents in Aberdeen, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, North Lanarkshire, and beyond in financial and emotional ruin. If the UK Government can reduce its foreign aid, why does the Scottish Government feel justified in increasing theirs while abandoning its own citizens? 

The denial of support is further compounded by bureaucratic failings. Residents have repeatedly requested private meetings with the First Minister to discuss urgent action, yet progress has been stalled by red tape. Recently, the Housing Minister responded to a request to meet with Scottish RAAC homeowners, but has sought to control the structure and conduct of the meeting, despite clear calls from campaigners for serious engagement rather than photo opportunities or political grandstanding. Local campaigners insist on leading the discussions, choosing which politicians attend, and keeping the focus squarely on real solutions, not optics. Even John Swinney himself stated he was “happy to meet with individuals” when questioned by STV (click here to view) about meeting homeowners, yet he continues to avoid meaningful engagement, failing to respond to numerous open letters — many of which have been published on my blog. I have written an additional open letter to the First Minister and Housing Minister (click here) requesting a private meeting, supplementing the public meetings already scheduled for November and December. 

This crisis is systemic. Decades of decisions, corporate lobbying, and regulatory failures allowed RAAC to proliferate in Scottish housing stock. Councils placed RAAC in public homes as a cost-saving measure. Research and promotion by construction firms and political figures encouraged its adoption. Safety reviews excluded Scottish properties. And yet, today, homeowners are blamed for a structural defect they could not have anticipated. 

In England, RAAC homeowners have already received fair treatment. In Scotland, however, thousands remain trapped in financial limbo — paying mortgages on unsafe properties, renting temporary accommodation, and watching their homes deteriorate. In a recent statement to the Scottish Parliament, Housing Minister Mairi McAllan made it clear that there will be no dedicated Scottish Government fund to support homeowners affected by RAAC, calling it “a homeowners’ issue” and suggesting responsibility lies with the UK Government. While she is correct that RAAC origins predate devolution and stem from UK-era housing policies like Right to Buy, this cannot justify the Scottish Government’s abdication of responsibility. Housing safety and local government oversight are devolved matters, and it is within the Scottish Government’s remit to protect citizens from structural risk. Scottish taxpayers have contributed to the public purse for decades, often paying taxes and refraining from claiming benefits they might otherwise be entitled to, and this should make them a priority over foreign aid commitments. Yet homeowners, denied access to certain benefits because they own property with equity, are now facing the loss of their homes, forced to pay for costly remedial work with little or no support, or offered only a token sum. 

As a member of an ethnic minority in the UK, I understand deeply the value of supporting the vulnerable globally. But this understanding does not excuse ignoring the urgent needs of our own citizens, who have built, contributed to, and sustained their communities. Charity must start at home. Scotland’s RAAC homeowners deserve recognition, support, and immediate action — a fair, funded, and coordinated solution that prevents families from being ruined by no fault of their own. 

The UK RAAC Campaign Group is calling for: 

A dedicated Scottish and UK RAAC fund to protect homeowners; 

Immediate rehousing support for displaced residents; 

Funding for surveys, remediation, and stabilization; 

A Public Inquiry into decades of government and regulatory failures; 

Transparent communication channels to restore trust between residents and authorities. 

Until such measures are implemented, thousands of Scottish families remain trapped in unsafe homes, paying for structural failures they never caused, while ministers grandstand abroad. This is not charity — it is neglect. It is time the Scottish Government put its own citizens first.