Latest news with #CladdingRemediationProgramme
STV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- STV News
Removal of dangerous cladding moving at ‘glacial pace', Lib Dems warn
The Scottish Government has been accused of removing dangerous cladding at a 'glacial pace', after figures showed just 0.2% of potentially affected buildings have completed remediation work. Out of an estimated 1,450 buildings that may require work to remove cladding, just three have been fully assessed under the Cladding Remediation Programme. Another 12 single building assessments (SBAs), which assess any risk to life as a result of cladding, are currently under way. Only two buildings in the country currently have active remediation work being undertaken. It comes despite the Government scheme having already received 600 expressions of interest from those responsible for potentially impacted buildings. The Scottish Liberal Democrats said there is 'no excuse' for slow progress after the Grenfell tragedy eight years ago. The party pointed to figures from England that show 48% of buildings identified with unsafe cladding have started or completed remediation work. Willie Rennie, the party's communities spokesman at Holyrood, said: 'In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, there can be no excuses for making such glacial progress, but this SNP Government continue to blunder their way through in slow motion. 'This is an issue where Scotland simply cannot afford to fall behind; by moving so sluggishly with the necessary building works, the SNP Government are only increasing the risks to people's lives. 'That's why I am imploring ministers to urgently step-up the pace in fixing at-risk buildings and keep homeowners, residents and local authorities informed on developments.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'A ministerial working group on fire safety was established immediately following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and continues to co-ordinate cross-government activity to improve fire and building safety. 'The Scottish Government has introduced legislation mandating the use of fire-suppression systems in new-build multi-occupancy properties over 18 metres; introduced regulations prohibiting the use of combustible cladding materials on high-medium risk buildings; and introduced regulations requiring the installation of interlinked smoke alarms in all properties. 'We committed to addressing unsafe cladding and the wider system failures that allowed these risks to go unchallenged. That commitment is now underpinned by law through the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which took effect in January 2025. 'We are moving at pace to support the identification, assessment, mitigation and remediation of buildings affected by unsafe cladding. Where risks are identified and require immediate intervention, we will take appropriate action because protecting lives is our top priority and cannot wait. 'Since the Cladding Remediation Act came into effect in January, we have launched the single open call, backed by £10 million of Scottish Government funding, to enable residential property owners to apply for a Government-funded single building assessment. 'We will shortly be announcing the second stage of the single open call, which will allow homeowners to apply for funding for measures recommended by an assessment. 'We will continue to provide updates on progress.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Removal of dangerous cladding moving at ‘glacial pace', warn Lib Dems
Out of an estimated 1,450 buildings that may require work to remove cladding, just three have been fully assessed under the Cladding Remediation Programme. Another 12 single building assessments (SBAs), which assess any risk to life as a result of cladding, are currently under way. Only two buildings in the country currently have active remediation work being undertaken. It comes despite the Government scheme having already received 600 expressions of interest from those responsible for potentially impacted buildings. The Scottish Liberal Democrats said there is 'no excuse' for slow progress after the Grenfell tragedy eight years ago. The party pointed to figures from England that show 48% of buildings identified with unsafe cladding have started or completed remediation work. Willie Rennie, the party's communities spokesman at Holyrood, said: 'In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, there can be no excuses for making such glacial progress, but this SNP Government continue to blunder their way through in slow motion. 'This is an issue where Scotland simply cannot afford to fall behind; by moving so sluggishly with the necessary building works, the SNP Government are only increasing the risks to people's lives. 'That's why I am imploring ministers to urgently step-up the pace in fixing at-risk buildings and keep homeowners, residents and local authorities informed on developments.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'A ministerial working group on fire safety was established immediately following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and continues to co-ordinate cross-government activity to improve fire and building safety. 'The Scottish Government has introduced legislation mandating the use of fire-suppression systems in new-build multi-occupancy properties over 18 metres; introduced regulations prohibiting the use of combustible cladding materials on high-medium risk buildings; and introduced regulations requiring the installation of interlinked smoke alarms in all properties. 'We committed to addressing unsafe cladding and the wider system failures that allowed these risks to go unchallenged. That commitment is now underpinned by law through the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which took effect in January 2025. 'We are moving at pace to support the identification, assessment, mitigation and remediation of buildings affected by unsafe cladding. Where risks are identified and require immediate intervention, we will take appropriate action because protecting lives is our top priority and cannot wait. 'Since the Cladding Remediation Act came into effect in January, we have launched the single open call, backed by £10 million of [[Scottish Government]] funding, to enable residential property owners to apply for a Government-funded single building assessment. 'We will shortly be announcing the second stage of the single open call, which will allow homeowners to apply for funding for measures recommended by an assessment. 'We will continue to provide updates on progress.'
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
SNP Government making 'glacial progress' on removing cladding from homes after Grenfell Tower
Willie Rennie said Nationalist ministers had "no excuse" after works were completed on just 0.2 per cent of potentially affected buildings. The SNP Government has been accused of making "glacial progress" in removing potentially dangerous cladding from residential buildings in the wake of Grenfell Tower fire. Willie Rennie said Nationalist ministers had "no excuse" after official figures showed remediation work had only been completed on just 0.2 per cent of potentially affected buildings. The Lib Dem MSP said the removal of potentially dangerous cladding was an issue "where Scotland simply cannot afford to fall behind". The Scottish Government has estimated up to 1,450 residential buildings may need remediation work - including about 250 high-rises. But full surveys are needed to establish what needs to be done on a case-by-case basis, a process known as Single Building Assessments (SBAs). The Lib Dems today warned that just three SBAs have been completed, while there are only two buildings with active remediation work. A further 12 SBAs are underway. The slow pace is despite Government's Cladding Remediation Programme having received 600 expressions of interest, which allows those responsible for buildings to ask for them to be assessed. The MSP said the lack of progress in Scotland contrasts sharply contrasts sharply with the situation in England where 2,490 buildings identified with unsafe cladding have started or completed remediation works. Rennie said: "In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, there can be no excuses for making such glacial progress, but this SNP Government continues to blunder their way through in slow motion. "This is an issue where Scotland simply cannot afford to fall behind; by moving so sluggishly with the necessary building works, the SNP government are only increasing the risks to peoples' lives. "That's why I am imploring ministers to urgently step up the pace in fixing at-risk buildings and keep homeowners, residents and local authorities informed on developments." The Scottish Government has brought forward legislation which could see a tax charged on the construction of certain new residential properties, in line with equivalent legislation in England. The bill seeks to raise about £30m a year to help fund work to fix residential buildings with unsafe cladding which have no linked developer. Ivan McKee, the Public Safety Minister, previously said: "The Scottish government is committed to doing what is right and necessary to address the challenge of fixing buildings affected by unsafe cladding. "That includes putting the appropriate funding arrangements in place to ensure that the associated costs of cladding remediation do not fall directly onto affected homeowners. "I know that developers share our determination to keep people safe and this levy will ensure they make a fair contribution to these costs, just as they will be doing in England." He added: "I also welcome the continued co-operation of developers who have accepted responsibility for the assessments and any required mitigation and remediation of their buildings." The UK Government has already agreed in principle to devolve the powers needed for a Scottish Building Safety Levy. Labour ministers announced their intention to speed up efforts to inspect and repair buildings in response to the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London that killed 72 people. The 23-storey tower's cladding is believed to have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. The Record asked the Scottish Government for comment.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Up to £3bn may be needed to fix building cladding
Up to £3bn of public money may have to be spent assessing and removing potentially flammable cladding from buildings in Scotland. New estimates from the Scottish government suggest up to 1,450 residential buildings may need remediation work, including about 250 high-rises. It was previously estimated about 900 buildings were affected. However, full surveys will be needed to establish what needs to be done on a case-by-case basis, with 107 buildings being examined as part of a pilot phase. It is now estimated that the Cladding Remediation Programme could cost £1.7bn to £3.1bn over a 15-year period. If new legislation is passed by the Scottish Parliament, additional funding could be unlocked to fix building safety issues. Ministers making 'painfully slow' cladding progress Scottish ministers given new powers to tackle cladding The Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill will see a tax charged on the construction of certain new residential properties, in line with equivalent legislation in England. The bill seeks to raise about £30m a year to help fund work to fix residential buildings with unsafe cladding which have no linked developer. Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee said: "The Scottish government is committed to doing what is right and necessary to address the challenge of fixing buildings affected by unsafe cladding. "That includes putting the appropriate funding arrangements in place to ensure that the associated costs of cladding remediation do not fall directly onto affected homeowners. "I know that developers share our determination to keep people safe and this levy will ensure they make a fair contribution to these costs, just as they will be doing in England." He added: "I also welcome the continued co-operation of developers who have accepted responsibility for the assessments and any required mitigation and remediation of their buildings." Trade body Homes for Scotland, whose members deliver the vast majority of all new homes in Scotland, said they were committed to remedial action on buildings they had built. But a spokesperson raised concerns about the impact of a building safety levy. "In addition to the proposed Building Safety Levy, Scotland's largest home builders are already contributing to the remediation of other impacted buildings through their payment of the Residential Property Development Tax (RPDT)," they said. The spokesperson said the proposed levy would mean an additional layer of taxation which "will add thousands of pounds to the cost of new homes, pushing families, first-time buyers and future generations further away from home ownership". They added: "At a time when Scotland is facing a housing emergency and 693,000 Scottish households are living in some form of housing need, this is simply unacceptable." The UK government agreed in principle to devolve the powers needed for a Scottish Building Safety Levy last year. Last month ministers announced plans to speed up efforts to inspect and repair buildings in response to the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London that killed 72 people. The 23-storey tower's cladding is believed to have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. It broke out in the kitchen of a fourth-floor flat at the tower block in North Kensington, just before 01:00 on 14 June 2017. Within minutes, the fire had rapidly spread up the exterior of the building and moved across all four sides. By 03:00, most of the upper floors were well alight. As well as those killed, more than 70 people were injured. The Cladding Remediation Programme was set up in the aftermath of the disaster but Scottish ministers have been criticised for its slow progress. How are the laws on cladding changing in Scotland? 'No warning' over cladding evacuation, couple say
